“Hello,” he says, “is this the first time you’ve ever been to The Monster Ball?” His gaze remains on my face, and I instantly feel as though his eyes have placed me under a trance.
“Yes. It’s my first time. You?” I surprise myself by being able to speak coherently since every neuron inside my brain is firing at a rapid pace.
Lance shakes his head. “No. I’ve been here a few times before, but this is the only year I wanted to come.”
“Why?” I ask. “What’s so special about this year?”
Lance’s lips part into a smile. “I was told by a fortune teller that I would meet someone tonight who would change my life forever. It seems he was right for once.”
“Is that seriously the best pick-up line you have, Lance?” Imperia asks as she slides his drink across the bar. Lance catches it deftly without ever breaking eye contact with me.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment,” he says, but I’m not sure if he’s speaking to Imperia, me, or both of us. “I almost lost hope that it would ever happen.” Lance leans over and whispers in my ear. “I know we just met, but can you trust me enough to follow me somewhere a little quieter?”
All I can do is nod my head since my tongue seems to be tied to the roof of my mouth.
“Hey, you forgot your drinks!” Imperia calls out as we walk away, sounding slightly annoyed that all her hard work is going to waste.
“I promise I’ll pay you back somehow, Imperia!” Lance tells her as he pulls a willing me through the raucous gathering.
“You better believe I’m going to expect you to keep that promise!” she shouts back.
As Lance guides me through the path of least resistance through the crowd, I experience a moment of déjà vu, but I know it’s more than that. It’s reality finally catching up with my glimpse into the future. Lance is literally the man of my dreams. For me, it confirms the fact that I was meant to be here instead of my mother. If I hadn’t stolen her ticket, I would still be going out night after night, looking for a man I knew existed but could never find. Any residual guilt I feel for stealing my mother’s invitation evaporates, leaving behind a feeling that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I follow Lance up the stairs to a door that leads to the Skydeck of the ship. The first thing that draws my attention is a purple neon sign stuck on the front of a drum set for a music group called the Dastardly Deeds. They’re perched on a platform against one of the four yellow-buff colored smoke stacks with a band of black at the top. Directly below them is a bar area where two bartenders are busily serving their voracious customers. The male bartender is certainly handsome, but it’s the female one who captures my full attention.
Her hair hangs well past her shoulders and starts out a light teal color at the top of her head that seamlessly transitions into a deep pink at the bottom. Her amethyst eyes glance my way for a split second as her bright pink lips stretch into a welcoming smile. If the hair wasn't a dead giveaway about what she is, the glittery sparkles across her cheekbones certainly are. She’s a unicorn shifter and only one of a handful I’ve ever seen in person.
I’m not sure why Lance thought coming up here would be a quiet place for us to escape to. The band is loud, as is the rowdy crowd on the dance floor. The only difference is that the air up here isn’t as sexually charged as it was down below.
Lance turns to me with an apologetic look on his face. He leans in to say in my ear, “I don’t think this was one of my better ideas.”
He laughs. I laugh, and any tension that might have been developing between us is quickly vanquished. Thankfully, the band decides to play a more mellow beat that everyone can slow dance to. Lance sighs in relief.
“Destiny strikes again,” he says while smiling and bringing me into his arms. The warmth of his embrace and the feel of his body against mine don’t feel strange or in the least bit uncomfortable. I feel as if we've held each other like this countless times before even though such a thought is ridiculous.
As we sway to the music, a multitude of questions flit through my mind, but there’s one that stands out from the rest.
“Why haven’t you asked me what my name is yet?”
Lance smiles down at me. His blue eyes sparkle with secrets yet to be revealed.
“I already know it,” he says confidently. “I’ve known who you are for a very long time, Eve.”
I stand stock-still, forcing Lance to do the same.
“How?” I demand to know. “Have you been stalking me or something?”
Ever since I met Sion, I always associated his iridescent glow with the purity of his soul. What if I made a mistake connecting the two? Is Lance a danger to me instead of my knight in shining armor?
“Please,” he says with an expression that begs for understanding, “I swear to you I’m not a stalker. I’m simply someone who wants to help you understand everything about the world I come from and what I’ve been told your place in it is destined to be.”
“Are you telling me you literally come from a different world?”
Lance nods, but he doesn’t elaborate. He gives my mind time to consider his outrageous claim.
He doesn't seem like a crazy person, and considering the magic that was used to get me to The Ball, I can honestly say I don't know as much as I thought I did about how the universe works.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask. “Where is this world? What’s it like?”
“Can we continue dancing while I answer your questions?” Lance looks both amused and relieved by my willingness to hear him out. As we continue to sway to the music, he begins to tell me about where he comes from.
“The place where I grew up is nothing like this one,” he says, letting his gaze shift to the people surrounding us before he looks back at me. “There’s no reason for our magical creatures to hide in the shadows as they do here because everyone in my world is born with a certain amount of magic.”
“A certain amount?” I ask. “So you’re saying some people have more than others?”
“Yes. Some are born with magic so strong they can tear down castle walls with a single thought. Others are born with only enough magic to light a campfire.”
“What determines how much magic someone is born with?”
“No one knows,” he says with a small shrug. “There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. A peasant can be born with the most powerful magic imaginable while a lord can be born with only enough to make sparks fly with the snap of his fingers.”
“Why are you using words like castle, peasant, and lord? Those are pretty old-fashioned terms here.”
“Our society is built around what you would call a feudal system,” he explains before leading me slightly to the right so we don’t collide with another couple on the dancefloor, “which is made up of a king, noblemen, knights, and peasants. Your world progressed past such an archaic system of governing years ago, but mine hasn’t yet.”
“Please tell me you at least have functioning bathrooms,” I joke.
Lance laughs. “Yes. We do. In fact, our society is quite advanced. Where you use technology to make improvements to your civilization, we use magic.” The smile on Lance’s face falters, and I know what he’s about to tell me next isn’t easy for him. “Unfortunately, magic is quickly fading in my world. If we lose all of it, we’ll truly be plunged into the dark ages, and I’m not sure my people will be able to survive such a collapse. We’ve simply lived with the conveniences it provides for too long. It would be comparable to your world no longer being able to produce electricity.”