His grasp on me was tight as we began a regular slow dance. His hand went into mine, and his other rested on the small of my back. The world disappeared, and all I could focus on was Ashe Knightley.

What was this man doing?

The violin began. What was supposed to be a slow, romantic tune turned low and eery. The light in the room had dimmed, and all I could see was the eyes of Ashe swallowing me whole.

What had I done?

I reminded myself to stay composed and not completely run out of the room. To distract myself from the slow dance with Ashe, I glanced around at the other couples dancing.

Oh.

Ilias was standing at the other side of the room, his armor replaced with a black tuxedo. A girl grasped his hands and flung him toward her. They began to dance.

My entire body failed in response to that. I turned my attention back to Ashe, who was still staring down at me as we continued dancing.

"What's wrong?" Ashe held my chin up and stared into my eyes.

My mouth stayed shut.

"Do you want to stop dancing?" he asked again.

"No." I held onto him tighter and stiffened myself. I wanted to do the dance. I wanted to show him that I wasn't scared. I was tired of everyone wanting me. I was tired of everyone using me.

The slow dance was over. I caught ladies and men exiting the room, and I knew it was time for the Tianese.

"Ready?" Ashe mumbled into my hair.

"Ready," I responded.

The music began. The violin, cello, and piano all began. I could see Mother playing the flute on one of the chairs, while Father stood behind her.

Ashe held my waist and turned my back toward him, his hands firmly on my waist. I knew that I couldn't back out now.

His hands trailed all over my body in a way that was different from what we'd previously practiced. We swayed into the next positions of the dance, his hand around my neck and his eyes bearing into mine. Every step was slow, and the music progressively got darker and darker. Eventually, the music drained away from my thoughts.

What didn't drain away, however, what the way Ashe was staring into my eyes as we moved. I stared back, and though I was shorter, it didn't stop me from making myself seen by him.

Ashe moved our bodies again, this time my hands cupping his face as he dipped us down, then quickly back up. The dance kept going. His hands trickled up to my exposed collarbone, and my ears and heart and entire body burned. There was not one time I felt like this. I didn't know what this was... but I never felt this.

He held my hand and flung me out, my feathered dress flaring. I could hear nothing except for my heart and breath, and I started to realize that maybe I was in trouble.

When I came back to his arms, I immediately tried to feel if he was tense or not. He wasn't. He was completely and utterly relaxed. That was when I noticed him put both of his hands on my back and dip me down so low, I thought I'd fall.

With one glance around the room, I saw the men kiss the women.

I looked at Ashe. He looked at me with equal question.

All I could do was give a small nod. His arms held me up more securely, and his lips met mine in a feverish, molten sort of way. Every curve of his was against mine, and never—never—had I ever thought that I would be kissed by Ashe Knightley. After that thought, no more came. There was not much to think, because everything I needed to think about was happening, and there wasn't much else to say.

My body became one, hot mess of lava.

We pulled away. I heard the final notes of the piano die out. Everyone glanced around at the other couples that were still dipped, but for the most part, everyone was quiet.

I looked at Ashe, who was wiping his face with a handkerchief. I could see a stain of red on his cheeks, and I knew that his body was also lava. Perhaps hotter than mine.

I walked back to our parlor table and drank a sip of wine. Ashe stood next to me, his hands around my waist.

"I'm going to speak with some people. You do the same." Without another word, Ashe walked away.

Walking away as well, I decided to talk to an interesting-looking man. His suit didn't look like everyone else's, and his hairstyle definitely didn't strike me as Thaeleckean.

"Hello, sir," I said, bowing my head a bit. "Lady Lydia."

The man turned and looked at me. His eyes were crystal blue, and his hair was gray. A sharp jaw, cunning eyes, and neatly cut hair that didn't look like the male hairstyle now. "Pleased to meet you, Lady Lydia. I watched you and Lord Byron dance earlier."

"Ah, did you?" The tip of my ears burned, but I did my best to ignore. "I'm sure you and your wife had a pleasant dance as well."

"I'm widowed," the man bit back.

"Erm... well, I'm sorry for your loss, sir. May I ask what is your name?"

"Nothing." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't mention to anyone that we met, yes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Valarya Cadice de Mertaire." The man walked through the crowd of dancers. I followed after him, but he was gone.

My eyes began to burn. I rushed toward the stairs, trying to make it to some restroom. The guard briskly opened the doors for me as I exited. Someone's arms went around me, and I felt myself go sick.

"Are you all right?" a familiar voice said.

"Help me!" I grabbed onto him, trying to rub my eyes. "Help me!"

"Calm down." The man looked at me and carefully pulled my hands away from my eyes. Nylas looked at me, then furrowed his brows. "You're bleeding." He gathered me into his arms and walked to me to the restroom across the hall. Several guards watched as Nylas entered a room, but they didn't say anything.

*~⚜️~*

My eyes stopped burning for the time being. Nylas had given me some herbs to help calm the pain. I could feel the veins around my eyes pulsing.

What was happening?

Who was that man?

I explained what happened to Nylas. He listened carefully to everything I had to say, but a part of me felt strange.

"I'll report this to the guards," Nylas said. "In the meantime, Lord Byron is getting a few... parchments."

I sighed and rested my head on my hands. Something wasn't right. Something really wasn't right.

I put my hands into the pockets of my dress and felt something cool. The Amulet.

Ashe probably snuck that into my dress while we were dancing. Typical of him.

Nylas and I made our way back to the ballroom. We walked down the staircase, and Ashe was standing at the bottom with his head resting on his hands.

Ashe and I wove our arms together and went back up the stairs, exiting through the same doors I just came in from.

Him and I made our way back to where the carriage were parked. Almost on cue, the entire perimeter of Malakette Palace exploded. The guards were all blasted into pieces. Wincing, I turned away and ran with Ashe to the back gardens. Screams erupted from all directions, but Ashe kept his concentration on getting to the entrance of the catacombs.

"Stay with me!"

"What's happening?" I held onto Ashe as he threw a small grenade on the entrance of the catacombs, blasting it open.

"We had a small... problem."

"What?"

We ran into the catacombs. Nylas stayed close behind us, shutting the door.

"Henneh was caught. They're putting the entire palace on lockdown. We had to get out before the guards started sweeping the area."

Ashe pushed me along, getting us to a close door in the hallway of the catacombs.

"The entrance is through that door." Ashe braced himself and kicked the door down.

We peered into the room, and I watched as Kace walked forward with at least fifty men flanking him on either side.

Ashe held me and slowly stepped back.

"Hello, Ashe Knightley," Kace said.

I glanced at Ashe and Nylas. There was not one expression on their face.

"Tie them all up." That was Kace's final order before the world went black.