Oh, he was smooth. I grinned as Sin turned bright red and tried to look demure despite her delighted smile. Aaron and Kai were so busy charming her that they hadn’t noticed me several long steps away—but Ezra, standing behind the other two, wasn’t watching Sin.
He stepped around Kai and approached me, smiling in a way that made my lungs quit working. His fingers brushed my elbow as he leaned down to speak in my ear.
“Beautiful isn’t a strong enough word,” he murmured. “You’re exquisite.”
My heart fluttered.
“I’m supposed to watch out for the what?” Sin exclaimed.
Ezra straightened and looked over, and I inhaled before I fainted. Stupid lungs.
“The pixie mistletoe,” Aaron answered as he pointed at the ceiling.
Hanging from the gilded, coffered ceiling above the windows, a small bunch of green leaves tied with a red bow swayed. The floor beneath it was conspicuously empty of guests.
“It looks like regular mistletoe,” Aaron explained, “but it’s a pixie. The event coordinator who does all the decorating for Mom is a witch, and she brings the pixie every year for the party. You probably won’t see it move, but it changes location throughout the night. You never know where it’ll show up.”
Sin paled with immediate alarm.
“And if you get caught under it with someone,” he added cheerfully, “you’d better kiss them, because the pixie will curse you with bad romantic luck for the next year if you don’t, or so rumor has it.”
I snorted. “Seriously?”
Aaron glanced at me, then did a double take, his eyes sweeping down my dress and back up again. “Wow, Tori. You’re—”
He broke off as his father strode over, his black tuxedo impeccable and a champagne glass in each hand. Following him was a middle-aged power couple, the man in an impeccable black tux and the woman draped in an off-the-shoulder gown patterned with huge peacock feathers.
“Aaron.” Tobias handed his son a champagne glass. “I haven’t had a chance to introduce you to Denzel and Abby Stein. Denzel is President and GM of the IAE.”
As Aaron shook hands with the couple, I leaned toward Ezra. “IAE?”
“International Association of Elementaria,” he whispered back. “The largest mage guild in the world.”
Kai shifted closer and murmured in my other ear, “They, along with the North American and European branches of the Arcana Federation, are the primary influencers of MPD laws.”
Whoa. I was suddenly relieved Tobias hadn’t introduced me.
“ … pleased to finally meet you,” Denzel was saying to Aaron in a slow baritone. “I’ve discussed this idea with Tobias, and I’m eager to get your input.”
“Oh?” Aaron murmured vaguely.
Denzel allowed a small, restrained smile. “As you know, we’re constantly working to balance the MPD’s strict prudence with reasonable freedoms. Early next year, we’re expanding our public relations branch, and part of that undertaking involves bringing on several influential spokespeople.”
“They’ve already brought Bjorn Visser and Jayda Hunt on board,” Tobias supplied, emphasizing the names as though they were Hollywood A-listers. “And Kyle Li has expressed interest as well.”
“But we also want an advocate for the youngest generation of mages,” Denzel said. “You’re the perfect candidate, Aaron. The role would involve a fair bit of travel but the benefits would be countless. The networking opportunities alone—plus the chance to become a voice for young mages everywhere.”
Denzel and Tobias smiled expectantly at Aaron. I blinked, taken aback by the prestigious offer. Even a nobody like me could tell it was an amazing opportunity.
“Thank you for considering me,” Aaron said politely. “I’d be happy to review the details and get back to you in the new year.”
Tobias’s smile went flat, but he held it in place. “Send me the information and I’ll forward it along,” he told Denzel.
“I’d be delighted to.”
Denzel’s wife swirled her champagne. “But we’ve been rude, I reckon,” she said in a bold Texan accent, “gettin’ straight to business like that. Aaron, tell us what you’ve been up to with your guild—the Crow and Hammer?”
Tobias jumped in before his son could answer. “Speaking of guilds, Aaron spent the better part of his morning meeting with Manolis Stavros.”
“The GM of Olympus?” Denzel’s eyebrows rose. “I see the competition for Aaron’s next guild will be stiff.”
“We’ll have to make him an offer right quick,” Abby declared confidently.
“Have you met Manolis?” Tobias asked. “Perhaps I can have the pleasure of introducing you.”
“We’ve met but I haven’t seen him in several years …” Denzel’s voice grew inaudible as Tobias led him and his wife into the mingling crowd.
Aaron, Kai, Ezra, Sin, and I let out identical heaving breaths as though none of us had inhaled properly during that entire conversation.
“Holy crap.” I goggled at Aaron. “That’s a hell of an offer. Are you actually going to …?”
He shook his head, looking tired even though the party had just started. “I have to pretend to think about it before refusing or they’ll be offended.”
“Um …” I hesitated. “Are you sure you want to refuse? Not that I wouldn’t be crushed if you left the Crow and Hammer, but—”
“Yes, I’m sure,” he interrupted sharply.
Right, okay. I nervously rubbed my hands together. “So what’s the plan for tonight? After the party, I mean?”
“Kelvin will give me my final dose of his potion at nine,” Sin said quickly, catching on to my attempted topic change. “Josephine arrives at around ten, and at midnight, I get exorcised—properly this time.”
“And first thing tomorrow morning,” Aaron added, “we resume searching for the alpha shifter. He may just be looking for a fight, but what he said—that you aren’t the one he’s looking for—worries me. There could be more going on here than a random, mutated shifter making the woods his home.”
I shivered at the reminder of the man’s clammy hands on me. “How did he get into the castle?”
“We think he came through the staff door in the east wing. It doesn’t appear tampered with and Dominic swears he locked it, but maybe he forgot.”
“All the students went home this afternoon, except for a dozen who are staying through Christmas.” Kai slid his hands into his trouser pockets. “Most of the staff and alumni will leave after the party and go home to their families. We’ll have less mage-power to help us, but also fewer liabilities.”
I nodded, eager for this party to be over with. I would’ve happily skipped it, but Aaron’s parents wouldn’t let him miss even a minute of the schmooze fest, so the rest of us might as well endure it with him.
As though summoned by my thought, Valerie appeared at Aaron’s elbow. “Darling, the Allertons are waiting to say hello. Ah, good evening, ladies. You look wonderful tonight.”
Taking her son’s arm, she dragged him over to an elderly couple wearing far too many diamonds between them for good taste.