I slipped my arm through Luc’s again. “Are your parents here?” I hoped at least to see Monsieur Dauphin without a mask on.
“It’s too dangerous for my mother to come.” Luc looked around the party distractedly. “The rest of us can take a risk, but a pregnant woman carrying the girl from the mandate? This party is technically for her, but she’s staying home. And I don’t believe Father’s here yet.”
I twisted a lock of hair around my finger. Maybe everyone would take off their masks at some point and I could think about my father then. Right now, I needed to find Jack, and the two of us needed to locate Stellan.
“Can I find you later?” I said to Luc.
He nodded. “Are you looking for Jack? You’ve been hanging out with him a lot.”
I stiffened. If Luc had noticed, other people had definitely noticed. I muttered something about talking to the Saxons.
“Fine,” Luc said with an exaggerated sigh, stroking the ends of my curls, then taking my face in his hands. “Leave me all alone.” He kissed me on both cheeks with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Just be sure to save me a dance.”
I promised, and left him talking to some diplomats as I made my way through the mingling crowds. Around the central dance floor, dozens of small tables flickered with candlelight, and at the end of the room opposite the entrance, a small orchestra played a lively waltz, the sound of violins and cellos mingling with the perfume of hundreds of pink peonies.
I was making my way past the dance floor toward a less-crowded corner where I might have a better vantage point when I saw Stellan. He stood alone against a wall of windows, talking on his phone, nearly blending into the dark.
I could have approached him then, but I wanted to find Jack first and go over our plan. I’d keep an eye on where Stellan went from here, and we could find him in a few minutes. I turned to go, but then I heard him. I stopped. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have said Stellan was speaking almost sweetly.
Curious, I inched closer—and only then did I notice Madame Dauphin approaching his quiet corner from the opposite direction, her hand on her full belly.
Stellan hung up the phone and snapped to attention, which looked vaguely comical, considering the gold mask perched on his forehead.
Unfortunately, I was right in his line of vision now. I pressed my back to the wall of windows, partially hidden by a jutting pillar.
“Madame,” Stellan said. He wore a slim black tuxedo that made his shoulders look especially sharp. “I thought you weren’t coming tonight.”
“Hugo and the security staff decided I wasn’t coming,” Madame Dauphin said. “You know that I prefer to do things my own way.” She wore a draping black dress, and with her severe blond hair and red lips, she looked both frightening and beautiful, like the evil queen in a Disney movie.
“So?” she said impatiently. “What have you found? I was expecting a report on her earlier in the day.”
Her?
Stellan darted a glance toward the center of the room, like he wished he was anywhere else. It was odd to see him look uncomfortable. “I’ve found nothing of concern,” he said.
Madame Dauphin stepped closer, and Stellan stepped back. “You and I both know there’s something going on. The Order only attacks people who matter. And then you let her run off, after I told you specifically to keep an eye on her. Lucky for you, she came back today with that Saxon Keeper.”
Stellan flinched, and so did I. I’d been right. Not only was Stellan watching me, Madame Dauphin was, too. And she’d noticed Jack and me. I pressed farther back into the shadows.
“I told you I’d report any findings immediately,” Stellan said.
“I hope so. You know what it means if you keep anything from me.”
Stellan bowed his head. “Yes, Madame. I am quite aware.”
“In fact,” Madame Dauphin said, looking around and lowering her voice even more, so I had to strain to hear her, “I wonder if we shouldn’t capture the girl, to be sure. We can hold her until we’re able to investigate more thoroughly.”
I went cold all over.
Stellan looked behind him, almost at me, and I held my breath. “She belongs to another family. I don’t think that would be looked upon kindly.”
Madame Dauphin waved a slim hand. “The Saxons have hardly acknowledged her existence. I want you to take her and hold her, just for now. Make sure there’s nothing inappropriate going on.”
Stellan opened his mouth, but Madame Dauphin cut him off.
“Senator. Hello.” Madame Dauphin’s voice rose an octave. “So glad you could celebrate with us.”
A man in a suit took Madame Dauphin’s arm, and the two of them walked away. Stellan watched them go before disappearing into the crowd.
I waited until I couldn’t see him anymore, then crept out of my hiding place. I needed to find Jack before Stellan could find me, we had to be careful what we told him, then I had to get out of here.
I stuck to the shadows around the edge of the dance floor. Not having any peripheral vision was starting to drive me crazy, but now I had even less interest in taking my mask off. Madame Dauphin could have spies everywhere. So I looked for Jack as well as I could from my limited perspective.
The CEO of one of the biggest software companies in the world ate a canapé and frowned at the crowd. A Victoria’s Secret model tossed her long blond hair and leaned on the shoulder of a short, round man in a turban. A tiny white-haired woman smiled up at a basketball player even I recognized, and I didn’t watch basketball at all. When the woman turned to set down her champagne glass, I did a double take. It was the queen of England.
Still no Jack.
The plume of an elaborate peacock mask skimmed my shoulder. I jumped, and the woman wearing it laughed drunkenly.
I let out a breath through pursed lips. Calm down. Think. If Jack was here, he’d be looking for me, too. I found an empty space by a pillar and, when I was sure no one was looking at me, pushed my mask onto my forehead. There were Keepers and security posted around the room, all in matching black tuxedos, but despite the black masks, I could tell none of them was him.
My eyes flitted all the way around the room—and then, no more than thirty feet away, I saw him. He was standing against a pillar next to the musicians, feet apart, hands in his pockets, searching just like I was.