The Bound (Ascension #2)(56)

“No, no. I don’t mind.”

She nearly flung herself into Dean’s arms to get away from Kael. Whatever the mission had been, it was no longer that. They needed to be gone from this place. It wasn’t safe.

A new song began almost immediately, but she was practically hyperventilating. While she’d wanted to dance with the mysterious Prince who had dressed like a commoner while out in the city, she couldn’t concentrate on that at the moment.

“Are you feeling well?” Dean asked, walking her a few paces away from Kael.

Dean stalled and didn’t pull her into the dance.

“Yes. I’m fine.” She couldn’t bring the simper back. It hadn’t worked the first time.

“You seem out of sorts. Do you need me to get you a drink?”

Cyrene took a moment to let her eyes wander the large ballroom. She got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she realized that she didn’t see anyone she knew. Avoca, Ahlvie, Ceis’f, Maelia, and Orden were gone. Did something happen to them, or did I miss a signal to leave?

The gardens were the alternative exit plan for the group. Maybe that was the best option.

“Actually. I think I need some fresh air.”

“Allow me to escort you,” he said, offering his arm.

She took it thankfully and left the ballroom with him. As she left, she glanced over her shoulder, but Kael had already melded into the crowd. She didn’t believe that he would be gone for long though.

The night air did little to relieve the tension in Cyrene’s shoulders. Her friends were missing, and Kael knew that she was here.

Why did he let me go? Did he think that I wouldn’t actually leave the premises? Did he detain my friends, knowing that I would come after them?

A million scenarios ran through her head, and she jumped when Dean placed his hand on her shoulder, drawing her out of her thoughts.

“My apologies,” he said, withdrawing his hand. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s not your fault. I can’t seem to find the friends I came with.”

“I’m sure they are simply enjoying the festivities.”

“Maybe.” She doubted it.

“Would it make you feel better if we went to look for them?”

“I think I should probably continue alone. I did not intend to detain you,” Cyrene told him. It was as nice a dismissal as she could manage.

Dean stared at her for a minute. “You remind me of someone.”

Oh no.

“Who?”

“A woman I met once in the forest.”

“I…” she said faintly.

“It is you, isn’t it, Haenah?” Dean asked. “I’ve been looking all over the city, and you were here in the castle all along. Did you come with the Prince? Were you hiding your identity, as I was?”

He sounded so hopeful that she was the woman he had met in the woods. Time seemed to slow as she stared up into the depths of his dark eyes. She actually wanted to tell him who she was.

“I don’t know who this Haenah is, but…”

Dean confidently took her hand in his. “Do you know how many women I have met who have spoken freely to me? Do you know how many women I have met who not only share my interests but are not afraid to stand up to me when I challenge them?”

“Perhaps more would do so if they did not know you were the Prince,” she whispered.

He laughed. “Perhaps they would. Yet, here you are, doing it, knowing that I am the Prince.”

Well, he had her there.

“So, tell me how a woman from Byern, traveling through Aurum, makes it to the grand ball without being in the First Class, as you said you were not. Better yet, try to tell me that it’s a coincidence that you are here at the same time as Prince Kael.”

Cyrene broke away from him. “I…I can’t.”

“Are you with him?”

“No,” she said flatly. Then, she tugged on the string and removed the mask that had been a feeble line of defense against Kael Dremylon. “I am not what you think I am.”

His hand traced her face, and she closed her eyes at his touch. It was as if he could see her for who she truly was and not the make-up that Avoca had used on her face.

“I think you are the most spectacular woman I’ve ever met.”

“There’s so much you don’t know.”

“You are the missing girl,” he whispered intuitively.

Her mouth opened in shock.

“The one who was kidnapped. They’ve been scouring the countryside for you.”

“How could you know that?”

He smiled. “Because I would stop at nothing less to see you again.”

His eyes darted to her lips and then back up. She could see what he was thinking, and she couldn’t help but to mirror his actions. She stood frozen. Her mind told her body to move, but her heart disobeyed the command.

The last time she had kissed someone, it had been Edric, and a jolt of energy unlike anything she’d ever felt had tethered her to him. Yet the desire coursing through her at this moment was completely unlike that. How could I want this from a total stranger?

His hand found her waist, and she took a step toward him rather than away. She thought he was about to make a move when a gut-wrenching feeling plummeted through her center. She doubled over and gasped for air.