“Not happily,” I replied.
“Well. That remains to be seen.” Elliot stood, and I noted that he didn’t have to push his chair back to do it. “Please, bring in your people and use the room for as long as you would like. No one will bother you here.” He stepped away from his place. “You’ll be going first, by the way. I’ll pair you with that fool Noah. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
And then he was gone, disappearing on the spot.
The breath went out of me and I sagged over my dessert. “So this is really happening.”
“That man is confident about regaining his status in the magical world,” Austin said, still standing after playing show and tell with his watch.
“He called in some power, too,” Cyra said through a mouthful. Her dessert was nearly done. “A couple of those mages seem like heavy hitters. Elliot Graves would do well to team up with either of them. Too bad he’ll be dead.”
“Shh!” I wrapped a protective soundproof bubble around us. “He might be gone, but that doesn’t mean he’s not listening somehow.”
Cyra shrugged. “He’s not stupid. He knows why you’re here. Do you think he’s afraid of the others? Not a chance. They want to use him, not kill him. He knows you’re different. He knows you’ll hit him with a kill strike the second he’s in view.”
“She’s right.” Austin put out his hand for me. “Would you care to dance?”
I felt my eyebrows climb. The string quartet was still playing, and the room was empty but for the two of us and Cyra. Still…it was enemy territory.
“Ahhmm…” I took his hand gingerly.
Austin helped me out of the chair and led me around the table to the dance floor in front of the string quartet. A balding man with a round nose and thick glasses smiled at me as he played his violin.
“You went through all this effort to get ready.” Austin rested his hand around my side and pulled me in close, his other hand holding mine. His smell permeated my world, clean and spicy and masculine. “At least you can show off how beautiful you look.”
He bent to kiss me softly before he started moving, his steps graceful and sure, his prowess on the dance floor unsurprising. My dress swished around my legs as he swung me and then twirled me, one hand always holding mine, the other directing me.
My stress unraveled within minutes, and I smiled up at him as he spun me. I was rusty, but it didn’t matter, not with his firm and commanding leadership, never letting me stumble, making me look good with each move, even if it was just Cyra and the musicians watching us.
“We’ve battled mages in hairy conditions,” he said softly as we danced. “We’ve always been the underdog. We’ve always been inexperienced or way outnumbered. And yet we’ve come out on top time after time. With or without Ivy House. Keep the faith, love.”
Warmth filtered through me at the term of endearment. He’d said he loved me once, but not since. I knew he was waiting for me to go first before he said it again. He clearly wasn’t planning on hiding his regard, though.
My heart squished and I leaned in a little closer.
“The other heirs went for bad men,” I said as he turned me. “Men who ultimately killed them. Why did the gargoyle magic let that happen if it won’t let us finish the mating slide?
“You have no idea how those men started. Power corrupts.” Cyra had a refreshed dessert, clearly having asked for more. “Regardless, I suspect your gargoyle is feeding off your own hesitation. You are a woman of strong character, Jacinta Ironheart. You know what happened to the other heirs, and to your own first marriage. You know what’s riding on this—your future. Your safety. You are feeding that gargoyle, I think, and that’s why it’s holding back. It’s looking for more validation that he is worthy of you. That’s a guess, of course, but it stands to reason. You will be the greatest heir of all. Or…if not the greatest, then at least the one that lasts the longest.”
“Well.” I resisted Austin’s leading enough to get it across that I wanted to slow down. He wrapped his arms around my waist and the music slowed. I looped my arms around his shoulders. “Why haven’t you proved it, then?”
His eyes flashed. His kiss stole my breath. He didn’t respond, but I knew he felt the challenge. I knew he would rise to the occasion and answer it. Somehow.
The next afternoon, I led my team down the halls and to one of the exits in the smaller tunnels. We’d gotten the schedule earlier that morning. As Elliot had promised, we were going first. I was glad for it. I’d never been good at hanging around, waiting for something to happen.