A Fall of Secrets (A Shade of Vampire #15)(17)

As I peered over the railing, I kept my head down low, just so that I could see, but wasn’t easily seen. To my surprise, Theon was the last to walk through the door. He wore a deep blue cloth draped over one bulging shoulder that perfectly complemented his tan skin. Approaching the center of the room, he stood next to the other dragons. They had all gathered together and were looking casually around the room at the ladies in their seats. I couldn’t spot a single girl in the room whose cheeks hadn’t already flushed.

My mother approached the shifters and greeted the prince. He bowed courteously, taking her hand and placing a chaste kiss over the back of it. They exchanged a few words, and then my mother backed away. She looked in my direction and gave me the thumbs up. I glanced back down once more toward the dragons, and to my surprise, Theon’s amber eyes were fixed directly on me. I backed away quickly and sat down behind the piano. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me… as though I was some sort of challenge.

He’d better keep his artistry of romance to himself.

If he tried anything with me, I would tell him in no uncertain terms which direction to head in. So I hoped that he would heed my father’s warning and leave me alone. Heck, we couldn’t afford to offend these dragons. The safety of our island depended on them now. Hopefully the prince was a gentleman.

Placing my fingers on the keys, I began to play. A few moments later, Shayla appeared a few feet away from me and picked up a clarinet. She positioned herself behind me, so that she could view my music sheet as I played, and began to accompany me.

From where I sat, I could still make out what was going on through the holes in the balcony. The dragons had begun to disperse, and were making their way toward the damsels seated around the room.

As they reached each girl, they bowed their heads slightly and held out a hand. The girls accepted, and I was sure at least a few of them were close to hyperventilating as the shifters placed their wide palms around their waists and began leading them to a slow dance. Their forms were so imposing, they dwarfed even the tallest of women.

Not a single word was exchanged as the dragons looked intensely into their partners’ eyes—as though just looking at them was conversation enough. Most of the girls looked too tongue-tied to speak even if they’d wanted to.

My eyes wandered around the room toward Jeriad. He had made a beeline toward my blonde friend Sylvia, who looked ecstatic.

For the next fifteen minutes, they continued to take in their companion’s every detail. Once Shayla and I paused for a few moments to mark a change of pace, they planted gentle kisses upon their women’s hands and moved on to a new partner, where more gazing ensued.

It appeared that the dragons had no desire for conversation at all. At least, not yet.

It’s like these men are trying to see through to the very souls of these girls.

Perhaps they did possess some kind of deep intuition and could judge a person from their eyes. Somehow, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Their gazes were so piercing.

I continued to look around the room, and once again Theon surprised me. He was standing at the edge of the hall, and he was showing no signs of approaching anyone. He wasn’t looking at me now—he was just watching his fellow shifters dancing. Several of the girls who were still seated were casting glances at him. Of course, they would sooner faint than approach him.

Why is he standing all alone? Jeriad had said that primarily, they had come here to find a partner for the prince.

I didn’t understand his behavior, although my suspicion left me ill at ease. I looked over at Shayla and nodded toward the prince.

“Why do you think he’s just standing there?” I whispered.

She shrugged. Although from the look in her eye, she had the same suspicion as me.

I stopped staring down below and focused on my music again. I didn’t know how long this ball would last. None of us did. I supposed the dragons would make it clear once they felt that they’d had a satisfactory introduction.

Hopefully not more than a few hours.

I kept my concentration mostly on my music for the next hour, though I couldn’t help but keep glancing down every now and then. The dragons maintained that silent demeanor throughout, just staring at their partners, as though nothing else existed in the world except the girl in front of them. I felt goosebumps run along my skin just thinking about attempting to hold their gaze for more than a few minutes, let alone hours. But almost an hour had passed now, and the girls seemed quite happy to be lost in their eyes.

I was relieved once one o’clock struck and Corrine arrived. She appeared near the food table and began talking with my mother, who cast a glance up at me and nodded. That meant it was time to start wrapping up the music.

Shayla and I finished the piece gracefully. Then, standing up, I caught sight of Theon again, still standing at the corner of the room. He hadn’t danced with a single person the whole hour, nor had he made any attempts to. I was surprised that even Jeriad hadn’t tried to pair him up. I could only assume that he’d requested to be left alone.

I remained watching from the balcony as Corrine manifested a long banquet table. Gripping their partners by the waist, the shifters led them toward the edges of the hall as the witch floated the table into the center and lined up chairs around it with her magic. She spread out a pearly white tablecloth, followed by piles of silver plates and cutlery.

“Please take a seat,” she announced.