Page 23 of House Ignis

The walls were closing in, the silk of my gown suddenly feeling like a shroud.

I slipped away before anyone could intercept me, weaving past Ember, who was already laughing brightly with a handsome, auburn-haired male. I pushed through the heavy oak doors and into the night.

The courtyard was a mercy. The air was sharp and cool, cutting through the stagnant heat of the ballroom.

Above, stars glittered like scattered embers across the endless black sky. I wrapped my arms around myself, my heels clicking a rhythmic, lonely staccato against the cobblestone path.

I kept walking until the noise of the hall fell away entirely, until it was just me, the chill of the night, and the relentless pounding of my own thoughts.

Finally. A breath of space to think.

Gods, what am I doing? I was playing a dangerous game, caught between the solid, safe earth of Jeremy and the volatile, seductive shadows of Asher.

I was messing with forces that could tear me apart if I wasn't careful.

Fuck.

"Well, well, well… isn't it, Princess Ava?"

The voice was like a bucket of ice water over my head.

My blood ran cold, and I froze in my tracks, the silence of the garden suddenly feeling very much like a trap. S

lowly, I turned toward the familiar voice, dread sinking like a stone in my stomach.

"Zorian," I breathed.

He stepped out from the deep shadows of the hedgerow, his smirk sharp enough to slice the night in two.

He moved with a predatory grace that was all sharp edges and arrogance.

"You look good," he said, his ocean-blue eyes raking shamelessly over me. "Not your brother's shy little sister anymore."

Revulsion twisted in my gut, thick and oily.

He'd once been Jax's friend until their falling-out revealed exactly what kind of gods-damned creep he really was.

Too smooth. Too close. Too entitled.

He'd always had a way of making my skin crawl, like a slug trail on fine silk.

Gods, I hated him.

"Well," I said coolly, my voice a shard of ice as I took a deliberate step back. "This conversation is already boring me. Goodbye, Zorian."

I turned to walk away, the silk of my skirt rustling against the stone—but his hand shot out with the speed of a striking viper. His fingers clamped around my wrist, his grip bruising.

He yanked me hard, spinning me back until I slammed into the solid, unwelcome heat of his chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zorian murmured, his voice dripping like poisoned honey near my ear.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a trapped bird. I could smell the wine on his breath, mixing with the scent of the sea.

Heat flared in my palms, my own flame itching to break free and scorch the skin from his bones.

"Aether," I called down the bond, my mental voice sharp with alarm.

Nothing.