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He let go of my arm and took up his station on the opposite end where the divine all had lined up. A low rumble of a bow being dragged across the strings of a cello reverberated in the rotunda, building as more string instruments joined in.

A waltz, I realized. We were expected to dance together. Nerves tumbled freely about my body, vibrating just beneath my skin at having to keep myself poised in the gods and goddess’s presence.

He bowed slightly and I curtsied in response.

Our bodies came together in a swirl and his large hands encompassed the expanse of my back.

His skin felt oddly cold, leeching through the thin fabric of my dress as if I were in the arms of a corpse.

A shiver ran down my spine as we turned around the dance floor.

Thankfully, our school dances had prepared me for such a moment, the muscle memory kicking in on where to move and when.

I rose my arm as gracefully as I could muster following along to the steady beat of the music, loathing every second of it.

Every movement had my mind singularly focused on the weapon strapped to my leg.

Hoping beyond all hope that the knot I tied was sufficient enough to keep it in place.

The distraction made me slower, having to scramble to keep up with the dizzying dance.

Kage seemed completely unaware of my struggle, too busy acting important and impressive.

That might work in my favor, I thought, trying to keep it together as we spun. Only two more movements around the room, and I would be free of him.

“You are quite the dancer, Ms. Deveraux,” Kage said, dipping me.

“Thank you,” I responded, averting my gaze as was customary to show respect. Truthfully, I just didn’t want to look at him, afraid that if I did, he would see right through me.

As he brought me back to standing, the music thankfully came to a halt, and I clapped along with the rest of the room, showing our appreciation to the talented musicians.

“Enjoy my power, I know I will enjoy watching you attempt to wield it,” The God of Shadows said with a bite to his words. He turned on his heel and left me in a daze.

Taking a steadying breath, I swiped a mushroom cap from a nearby server, popping the tasty morsel into my mouth.

I tended to eat when I felt stressed, and right now, my stress was at an all time high.

The games were tomorrow. But no amount of mushroom caps could make me feel better about being tossed into the middle of a massacre.

The mushroom cap was larger than I expected and I was pretty sure my cheeks were resembling those of a chipmunk right about now.

Of course, that’s exactly when Dex decided to show his annoyingly handsome face, coming over with a smirk, his hands shoved deep into his pockets making his muscles pop prominently in his tightly fitted button-down shirt. It should have been illegal for him to look that good.

I chewed quickly, pocketing the food in my cheeks feeling them stain with heat as he came near. All day I’d been able to avoid him, but now I was being cornered with nowhere to run off to.

My eyes darted around the room looking for an escape. Nat looked cozy with her goddess, Mediah, The Medusa and the rest of my team, Killian and Reed were showing off their powers to a few of the female contestants. I rolled my eyes at their sad attempts of flirting.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Dex said.

I swallowed my food down and avoided his gaze, trying with all I had not to think of how I’d found him in the shower, saying my name.

Yep, I was failing hard because that was all I could think about.

Another server came by with a tall glass of champagne that I grabbed gladly, chugging the contents back.

“Aw, still feeling embarrassed over last night? Did you not like hearing how hard I came picturing you beneath me?”

I choked on the liquid I’d been drinking, feeling a burning in my chest and a dribble of the alcohol down my chin.

“What am I going to do with you?” He asked, wiping my mouth with his thumb. Everything in me stilled at that small touch. It brought me right back to that stupidly hot dream I’d had of him. One that he could never find out about.

I smacked his hand away, which only made him chuckle and those icy blue eyes of his dance with glee like I was a challenge to him.

“Excuse me,” I said gathering my dress trying to get past him.

He grabbed my wrist, gently, but with enough force that I stopped, turning to look at him.

My breath felt caught in my chest. I knew I should run in the other direction.

He was trouble waiting to happen, but his touch felt so damn good against my skin.

“You don’t have to run from me, you know,” he seemed sincere, but this was Nocturne. No matter how sincere his words may be, I knew I couldn’t trust anyone. Least of all a devilishly handsome rake that if I were to entertain would only cause me heartache.

“Yes, I do.” I’d been reckless with my feelings, allowing him to somehow slip behind my defenses. Imagining the things I had and liking it. The visual of us together on my bed still so fresh and seared into my brain.

I was glad then that he didn’t possess a power to read my mind.

The shame that I felt over fantasizing about him in the night was all consuming.

The guilt was as palpable as my own heartbeat.

I shouldn’t be thinking of him like that at all.

But here I was, wrist being held by him as if that was exactly where I belonged. Next to him.

It wasn’t possible. I was taken, and we were on opposite teams. He could as easily kill me for my power, as I could for his.

But for some reason, I wanted that all to not be true.

I wanted the chance to know what it would feel like to give into these forbidden feelings that had taken root in my chest. And that was the most shameful thing of all.

A betrayal of the highest kind to Theo, the man I was promised to. And I couldn’t forget that.

“I can’t,” I said eventually, pulling my arm away from him, feeling the ghost of his warmth still wrapped around my wrist. He shoved his hands back into his pants, his jaw clenched tightly as if he wanted to say something further but was refraining.

I turned, walking blindly away from him, with no destination in mind other than away.

Discarding the glass in my hand as I walked, my face felt red from the thoughts whirling in my head.

Just as I turned my head to look behind me, my body collided with The God of Shadows.

“Kage,” my mouth said before I had time to think about how disrespectful that was. To call a god by their first name as if we were friends could be a fatal mistake. I realized my blunder immediately, bowing my head. “My apologies, my divine ruler.”

My heart was going a million miles a minute, waiting for him to decide my fate. One look up, and I saw what looked like amusement dancing upon his smile.

“I never hear my name anymore, it’s refreshing really. I almost forgot that’s what it is. Everything is always divine this and god that. Don’t fret, child. I won’t punish you for your mistake.”

An unspoken, ‘this time’, hung in the air and I bowed again showing my gratitude.

“Would you like to dance?” He asked, though it sounded more like a command.

“I would be honored to,” I responded. When I took The God of Shadow’s hand for a second time that evening, Dex’s stare was boring into me with a simmering anger that followed us as the dance began. Oh, Dessa, what a mess you’ve gone and gotten yourself into now.