Bound to Cruelty

Emmanuelle takes my arm, and I wish, for a second, he was Michail. That I walked in with the man I actually want on my arm.

We slip through the crowd, his guards fanning out behind us. I keep my eyes out for people I know, ones I trust to have my back, but there are decidedly few here. Until I hear a soft masculine laugh. I jerk my face toward him, spotting him even with a hundred people around us.

Margery is clutching him to her side, her thin body hugged tight in a dress belonging on a sixteen-year-old girl heading to prom. What is she thinking?

Then Michail turns, and I can’t stop looking at him. Damn, I give her props for her ability to dress a man. His suit is just the tiniest bit too tight, and I don’t mind one single bit. All of him is on display, and the appreciation I feel quickly shifts to something sharper.

As does the gut kick I get when he flashes her a sexy grin. I recognize the look on his face as one of the masks he slips into. I think he calls this one beautiful and stupid. A role he plays more often than I wish he would.

Emmanuelle slides a champagne glass into my hand. I give him an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

His eyes trail to Michail and then to me. His phone dings loudly in his pocket and he tugs it out to check, his eyes wary. Then he smooths his features and focuses on the scene once more.

Part of me wants to ask what that’s about, but we aren’t friends enough, and whatever he’s dealing with is none of my business.

He skirts around me, heading toward them, and I have to stumble to keep up. Emmanuelle takes Margery’s hand, kisses it, tucks it onto his arm. “Forgive me, but I want to dance with the most beautiful woman in the room.”

She twitters, and I step out of the way to allow them access to the dance floor. I turn to face Michail again, and he’s staring narrow-eyed at Emmanuelle’s back. Then he drops his gaze to me, and it’s like I can let my shoulders fall away from my ears for the first time all day.

“Dance?” He extends his arm for me to take.

I nod and let him lead me to the floor. I’m not sure what to expect with him, but he leads me through a waltz expertly. So perfectly, in fact, for once I don’t have to consider the steps. “Are you ready?” he asks.

It takes me a second to realize he’s not talking about dancing. I shake myself to focus. Which seems impossible with the lemongrass scent of him surrounding me. With the heat of him pressing in.

A clock chimes somewhere, and I know it’s the call for the councilmembers to meet in the chambers. Bitterness coats my tongue. Chambers that I have to force my way into now.

Michail tips my chin up and brushes his thumb over my lip. Then he’s gone.

Emmanuelle joins me and leads me to the bar. The crowd has thinned with the council’s exit and a lot of attendees have adjourned to eat until they return. Especially if they don’t have business with them.

Minutes tick by, and I have to keep myself from fidgeting. I sip some water that I snag off a passing waiter and scan the crowd for Emmanuelle’s men. Do they know what kind of man they serve? Or are they his friends like the five serve Adrian? We’ve been fake engaged for a while now, and I barely know anything about him.

While I don’t have any romantic notions, I wouldn’t mind being his friend. Which gives me pause since I haven’t allowed myself to want friendship from anyone in a very long time. I guess seeing how devoted Adrian’s Five are to him, and how they also serve my brother, not only serve but love him, I crave those kinds of connections too. Hell, my entire world fell apart, and I didn’t have anyone to turn to except my brother. And even then, I felt like he helped me more out of familiar obligation than actual desire. I haven’t exactly been an angel, nor gone out of my way to help him in the past. The brush with his councilwoman was my first attempt at making things right between us, and even then, he still only saw me as the power-hungry sister who would step on her family to reach her goals.

Emmanuelle leads me through the crowd toward the council chamber doors. Huge columns bracket the giant double doors, adding an air of majesty I always loved about this place.

I brace my shoulders, readying myself and my mask for what I might find on the other side of that door. It’s time to finally face the person responsible for the attacks, and all the pain I’ve had to deal with in recent weeks.