Page 99 of The Dazzling Heights

She turned slowly, the elegant fishtail of her gown swishing out behind her. For one last night she was going to be Calliope Brown, consequences be damned.

WATT

WATT’S ARMS CLOSEDaround Leda from behind. “Where’d you disappear to?” he murmured into her hair, which smelled of dusty roses, a smell he’d grown quite accustomed to these past few weeks.

“I was off meddling,” Leda said mischievously.

“Were you?” Watt released his arms to spin her around. She looked radiant, her face lit up from within, her whole being almost floating off the terrace where they stood.

“I’m trying to get Rylin back with Cord. It might take a while, though. They’re both being a little stubborn.”

“A few months ago, you were threatening Rylin, and now you’ve gone all Emma Woodhouse on her?” Watt was amused.

Leda tilted her head at him. “Am I mistaken, or did you just make a Jane Austen reference? Will wonders never cease.”

“Hey, I can read!” Watt protested, though in truth, Nadia had fed him that line. He decided to change the subject. “Anyway, what makes you think you should be the one to decide whether Cord and Rylin are together?”

“Because I know best,” Leda declared, as if it were self-evident.

“Because you enjoy playing puppeteer with other people’s lives.”

“Oh, please. Like you don’t.”

“Just because Icouldspend all my time spying on other people doesn’t mean that I choose to do it. I usually end up offloading my surveillance on Nadia. You’d be surprised how boring it can be.”

“Except for spying on me, of course,” Leda quipped.

“Right, of course.” Watt stifled a grin.

Nadia prompted him toward a garden on the far side of the terrace. It looked nice, so Watt took Leda’s hand and led her there, down a pathway lined with trees and enormous flowering blossoms.

Bring up Eris, Nadia urged him.Now is the right time.

Not right now, Nadia. Okay?

This is your chance,Nadia insisted.Don’t you want to be free of Leda?

Leda gave him a squeeze, her hand still clasped firmly in his, and Watt was no longer sure of anything.

He glanced at Leda, taking in her elegant profile, the impulsive way she moved in her flowing white dress, everything about her—her eyes, her hands, her mouth—softened in the dimness. He thought of all the different sides of Leda he’d come to know. Her ruthless, fierce determination; her aching vulnerabilities; her nightmares; her incredible brilliance. The one thing Leda Cole wasn’t, he thought, was uncertain.

“You really do think you always know best, don’t you?” he mused.

“I know I do,” she countered.

“Well, then. If you know best, what should I be doing differently?” He’d framed the question as a joke, but suddenly, he was curious to know.

“Where do I begin? For starters, you could get rid of that terrible Nerd Nation T-shirt you always wear.”

“I won that T-shirt in a science fair—” Watt began, but Leda was talking over him, ignoring the protest—

“You could pay a little more attention to your family.” A new seriousness settled over her small, passionate face. “They really care about you, Watt. I can tell. And unlike mine, they would never lie to you.”

That last comment made him inexplicably sad, but before he could press on it, Leda had shaken it off. Watt decided to let the moment pass.

“As for right now, you could start by kissing me,” she concluded.

There was no disobeying a direct order.