Mom laughed.
“Please. I met the fledgling. The fury was protective of Oanen, not angry for any perceived wickedness. I would be fine and so would Megan.” She patted my arm. “But I promised to be on my best behavior tonight.”
We stopped at the bar. “Now, what can Ymir get for you?”
A giant looked up from the drink he was making.
“Not the Ymir, just Ymir.”
“A chocolate martini mocktail, please.”
“They’re all mocktails tonight,” he said with a smile before addressing Mom. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine, Ymir. And if Eliana wants anything stronger tonight, you have my permission to oblige her.”
I looked down quickly and pretended to fix my dress so no one would see my eyes and know how I’d taken Mom’s words. I should have eaten more.
“That’s a lovely dress, Eliana,” Mom complimented. “It’ll match your eyes if you don’t hide their color.”
Groaning, I looked up at her.
“I hate when they do this.”
“And some women feel shame when their nipples harden and seek to hide them with padded bras. It’s a waste of time, just as wearing sunglasses would be. Most people are too worried about their own insecurities to notice yours. And those who do notice and are immune to your special talents will seek to use your insecurities against you.
“You’re too high on the food chain to be viewed as prey, baby. It won’t end well for them.”
“Chocolate martini,” Ymir said with flare. “And she’s right.”
I looked up at him, and he winked at me before helping the next person.
Sighing, I took my drink and turned away from the bar. My very black gaze scanned the crowd in an idle search for Jenna or Fenris as I sipped liquid chocolate.
“Their dancing is atrocious,” Mom said. “Any chance you’ll go out there and show them how it’s done before they give my club the wrong name.”
She watched a group of students near the human entrance.
“Since all your current patrons are my peers and won’t be able to return here until they obtain their marks, I highly doubt what they do tonight will tarnish Blayz’s reputation.”
“Perhaps you’ll change your mind for the right partner.”
I gave her a warning look. Fenris’s name had popped up repeatedly during our shopping excursion. Jenna, having already been let in on what tonight would entail for her, had kept mostly quiet on the topic. That hadn’t mattered to Mom. She’d kept trying to get me to talk about him.
“Raiden is an idiot,” Mom muttered before taking a cleansing breath.
“I think I’ll go upstairs and sit for a bit. I promised your father I wouldn’t overtax myself.”
She walked away, ignoring the dancers and party-goers she’d invited. They didn’t ignore her, though. No one could ignore a succubus dressed like she was, no matter the age difference.
One of my classmates approached me, a needful gleam in his eyes.
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing or saying, forget about it and walk away. I’m in no mood for your company.”
He immediately veered in another direction and lost himself in the crowd of dancers.
Someone in the crowd let out a wild yell. Probably one of the mermaids. Mid-eye-roll, my gaze caught on a dark head of hair.
My pulse skipped, and my hands grew sweaty. He was here. I’d known he would be, yet I felt completely unprepared at the sight of—
His head turned, and brown eyes met mine. But they weren’t the ones I was hoping and dreading to see.
Eugene grinned at me as he continued to grind against a siren, and my mouth dropped open. That boy was going to get himself killed. Setting my drink aside, I forgot all about my dress and my pull on people as I hurried across the floor and threaded my way through the dancers.
Eugene gave a startled yelp when I reached him and grabbed his ear, tugging him down to my level.
“What are you doing here?”
“Relax, Eliana. I’m safe. Adira had a druid ward me, your mom promised to watch over me, this place is warded against human death, and the only way out for me is through the human door or a portal.”
I gave him a flat look. More than likely, I was the reason he was here, and the poor fool didn’t even realize it. Like Adira had promised him, I wouldn’t kill him, and I wouldn’t try to leave with him. But I’d change him forever, in ways he wouldn’t like if he had the ability to think for himself afterward. I was willing to bet that whatever ward Adira had the druid put on him would work to repel everyone else but me.
“Don’t be foolish enough to blindly trust Adira’s promises of safety. That didn’t work well for Ashlyn. She disappeared from a place just like this.”
He gently pried my hold from his ear then held my hands in his.
“I came here because I would have died where I was. Staying closed up in a house? That’s not living, either. Let me live, Eliana. For however long I have, let me live it.”
I sighed and pulled my hands free.
“What about Kelsey and Zoey? Are they here too?”
“No. They chose to stay home and play it safe.”
“Megan isn’t going to be happy if something happens to you.”
“That’s just another layer of protection.” He grinned at me, grabbed the siren’s hips, and started dancing again. He had moves. Tempting moves.
Annoyed that Adira knew what she was doing, I turned away from Eugene and almost faceplanted into another chest. Arms encircled me but not to steady me. We started to sway to the music.
Jerking my head up, I locked gazes with an achingly familiar, humor-filled one.
“It took you long enough to join the fun,” Fenris said.
I stopped swaying and stepped back only to bump into other dancers, who propelled me right back toward Fenris. His grin widened.
“It’s easy to join the dancing. Much harder to leave it. Trust me, I’ve watched several try already.”
“How long have you been here?” I demanded.
“From the start.”
“Jenna’s looking for you.”
“I know.”
“Are you avoiding her?”
“Avoiding? Never. But I am a master at hiding. Dance with me, Eliana.”
I shook my head.
“Find Jenna. She’ll dance with you.”
His hands settled on my waist, and he reeled me in, inch by inch.
“You’re hurting my feelings.”
“Fenris, this isn’t you.”
“Why do you think that? Haven’t I been trying to get you to dance with me since Megan showed up months ago?”
I considered what he was saying. He had been asking me to dance since long before we’d spent any time together. Long before I could have possibly put any kind of spell on him.
“Fine. Dancing with girls is a ‘you’ thing. But not with me, Fenris.”
“Exactly. You’re the one who keeps getting away. Let me get this out of my system. Dance with me.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. You’re just afraid to because I gave in to my nature last night.” He leaned in close. “I warned you not to run.”
I shivered lightly at the timbre of his voice, and he licked my nose.