ELLIE

Lady Nightingale was a skilled dancer.

Watching her and Evander twirl around the dance floor with such grace and ease, one would have thought they’d done it a thousand times—oh, wait, probably because they had done it a thousand times, and it had me wondering just how long they’d been together.

“Two decades,” the king said with that annoying little habit of his that had me questioning whether the Dwellen fae had also been blessed with the ability to read minds.

It was probably just my soured expression, though. Or the way I was crossing my arms so hard, my forearm muscles bulged.

Two decades? Evander had courted this female for longer than I’d graced this side of the sun.

Though I supposed the king could have made up a number just to get under my skin. The fae curse kept him from lying, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t spout out random numbers when he hadn’t even been asked a question.

One dance, I told myself.

But when one had decades of history up their sleeve, did they really need anything more than a single dance to rekindle the flame?

As if in answer, Lady Nightingale leaned in close and whispered something to Evander. I averted my gaze to the floor and began counting marble tiles. I couldn’t stand to witness his reaction.

My heart ached.

“Miss Payne, so they tell me?” A smooth, playful voice made me lose count.

I startled, suddenly keenly aware that whoever this stranger was, they had probably just witnessed me pining after Evander.

I turned to find a ridiculously handsome male peering at me, offering his hand as if he expected me to take it rather than continue gaping at him.

His wavy dark hair fell carefree onto his forehead, tousled in a manner that must have been meticulous and purposeful for the way it somehow managed to look both messy and put together. Pointed ears poked through his dark waves. A mischievous grin spread across his tanned face and a promise of adventure flashed in his pale molten eyes.

“I…” Get ahold of yourself, Elynore Payne. “I’m afraid you haven’t bothered to tell me your name.”

It came out with more of a bite than I intended it to. Amusement sparked in the male’s stunning eyes.

“Just call me Fin.”

Fin. The name sounded familiar, and it probably should have. Most everyone invited to this ball would have been mentioned in the papers at some point or another. But for some reason, I couldn’t place it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fin. I’m Ellie Payne.”

A flash of white teeth. “So I’ve heard.”

Right. He’d already said that.

He leaned in close, the smoked cedar scent of him lingering as he whispered, “If you don’t take my hand, I’m afraid I’ll never hear the end of it from my sister-in-law.”

When I looked down, I found his hand still outstretched, suspended in the air expectantly. I took it, though as soon as I did, I found my eyes darting around the room for Evander.

I found him all right, dipping that Nightingale woman so low her silken black hair grazed the floor.

I hoped Blaise had slacked off on mopping that very floor.

When I glanced back at Fin, he was watching me intently.

“What?” I asked, as he locked his fingers into mine and placed a hand on my waist. My skin warmed and my heart fluttered at the touch.

“Half the dances at these royal balls never mean anything,” he said knowingly.

I scoffed. “Evander can dance with whoever he wants.”

Fin’s lip twitched, and he pulled me onto the dance floor. His steps were quick and sure, leading me through the dance with such mastery I found myself not having to think about where my feet went. “You’re right. I suppose you are being forced to marry him. I can understand the strategy in remaining emotionally detached.”

Emotionally detached. Definitely. That was definitely what was happening. I rolled my eyes. “So romantic.”

He quieted for a moment. The lyres and harps transitioned into a new song, this one slower than the last. I couldn’t help but notice that Evander and his dance partner slowed too, the female so close to him she might have laid her head on his chest and fallen asleep.

Not just the first dance, but the second.

Strong hands pulled me close, and I found myself a breath away from Fin’s chest. I resisted and pulled back, the nearness of the lanky fae male as unsettling as it was enticing.

I expected a flash of anger to cross his face. To be invited to this ball, he had to be of noble birth and likely would take offense to a mere human rejecting his advances. But Fin only grinned wider. “You’re ruining my schemes, Ellie Payne. I’m only trying to help you out.”

I bit my lip, irritation boiling. “Perhaps you might consider that I’m not interested in what you’re offering.”

He looked offended, but I was almost certain it was feigned. “And what exactly do you think I’m trying to offer you?”

My cheeks burned, and I considered waltzing away and leaving him stranded on the ballroom floor, but the king was already displeased enough without me snubbing one of his honored guests.

Still. I might have the sense not to spurn him so openly, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t speak my mind.

“Do you always assume that women want you to ‘help them out’?” I could hardly contain my eye roll.

Suddenly Fin was very close.

Way too close.

He’d dipped me backward, pressing his forehead to mine until our noses brushed, his breath heating my lips. I gasped, stunned for a moment as he held me there, suspended with his palm supporting the small of my back.

I don’t know what I was expecting to see in his eyes. Perhaps longing or hunger or a range of emotions that were not at all appropriate to feel for the betrothed of another. But then he winked, and his eyes darted to his right, signaling me to follow his gaze.

I took the chance and glanced to my left.

Evander was still dancing with his former lover, but his neck was craned at an angle that hardly looked comfortable, his jaw clenched tight. His tanned skin flushed crimson, his sea-green eyes glowing. Or rather, glowering.

“You’re the noble type, aren’t you?” Fin mused, still breathlessly close to my face. “I take it you don’t play games, Ellie Payne.”

I leveled a glare at him. “You don’t have to use my full name every time you address me, you know.”

He laughed.