“Note to self: Sen Jerome monks are easier to get past than Gray Tower clerks.”

Hiding a smile, Mei led Charlie past desks covered in used cups, plates, and eating utensils, the remains of the reception Dwayne had attended.

Since it was clear that neither Kay nor Delma were on the first floor, Mei left Charlie next to the stairs and as she closed her eyes and listened. Unlike the Tower and unlike Sanford, she didn’t know this place, had no idea where any magical artifacts or books would be hidden. Hopefully the thieves were making enough noise for them to follow.

Close by and too loud, she heard hard, slightly wheezing breaths of Charlie, who she should give tips on how to be silent when she had the chance. As she filtered that out, and the beats of her own heart, the distant accompaniment of the fun time Maggie and Dwayne and Fran were having became clearer and clearer. Filtering that out left only the patter of rain beating softly against stone, the sound of Bradford as far was Mei was concerned. It was strangely loud though, like a door was open or a… window.

Mei opened her eyes and went over to the open window on the northern end of the room.

Charlie had to rush to keep up. “What is it?”

“It is raining and this is open.” Mei inspected the window’s frame. No damage, no sign that it had been broken or forced open. “Someone came in through here.”

Charlie inspected the other windows. “These are latched from the inside. Someone would have had to let him in.”

Nodding, Mei went on tip toe to poke her head out of the window. Several wir below her and starting at the walls of Palace, the North Gardens terraced down the hill up to the outer walls that separated the Palace from Bradford. Considering how difficult it would be to climb the sheer stone of the outer walls, cross the gardens, and then climb the sheer stone walls of the tower, Mei couldn’t see it was worth it, not when Delma or Kay could just walk on in.

And yet, right below the windowsill were two holes in the wall where climbing nails had been hammered in. Only two though. Weird.

Charlie saw Mei frown. “What is it?”

Mei indicated the holes. “How did those happen?”

Charlie peeked at them. “Magic?”

“No, it’s too far, climbing nails don’t throw far, and the stone is too hard.” Mei’s eyes slid back over to the detritus of the reception. “It would make more sense if they came from inside…”

He had been at the reception with Dwayne and-

No. Focus. “Look for damp spots on the floor.”

“Here.” Charlie pointed out a few places on the rug and carpet, where the barest hints of wet footprints could be found. “Looks like they went downstairs.”

“Then so do we.”

With Charlie right behind her, Mei went over to the staircase and cautiously descended, passing the floor with the provisional license records and going through a door labeled Archives. The corridor beyond was uncarpeted and partially lit by a weak bluish light emanating from an opened door at the far end, which also allowed muffled voices to drift towards them. They’d found their thieves.

Carefully, Mei reached down and removed her shoes, and, when Charlie had done the same, she crept down the corridor, the voices becoming clearer and clearer as she approached.

“Cups, Sky,” said a rough, deep voice, “could you take any longer?”

Kay.

“If you think we should hurry,” replied a voice in a pancake flat accent, “you could come over here and help.” Blue Mask. “Otherwise, it’s almost like you know there’s no way anyone is coming down here.”

“She would,” drawled a third voice. “She recognized me from how I landed.” That was Delma, and she sounded further away than Kay and Blue Mask. “I mean, sure, no one can addillaggio like I can, but who notices that?”

“Less talk,” said Kay. “More search.”

By now, Mei and Charlie had reached the door. Gesturing for Charlie to put his shoes back on, Mei put her own on while trying to figure out how to get past Kay, who was probably watching the door, but without any mirrors she could use to peek, she didn’t know where he was. The only help she found was the door sign, which had the difficult-to-parse phrase “Her Majesty’s Thaumaturgical Collection” etched into metal that gleamed in the strange blue light.

Luckily, she hadn’t heard a fourth person, which meant that the thieves only had the advantages of a stiletto, wind magic, magical throwing knives and one-man advantage over Charlie and Mei and her one dagger. She should get help, but doing so would give the thieves time to finish their hunt and escape and then Mei would have lost her best chance yet of proving her brother’s innocence.

However, that wasn’t only her decision, so she looked at Charlie and nodded at the door. In response, he shook his head and pointed back the way they came. Just to make a point, Mei drew her dagger and-

“What was that?” asked Blue Mask.

“What was what?” replied Kay.

Mei tensed. No one could have heard the soft slither of her dagger draw unless they had something like the Tiger… No, there had to be another explanation. Maybe some paper had dropped in the room.

“I thought I heard something,” said Blue Mask.

“No time for distractions,” growled Kay. “Keep searching. Gold and I only have a few more minutes before my brothers and sisters start to wonder what we’re up to.”

The reminder that the monks had let Kay and Delma down here put a knife into Charlie’s resolve to wait for help, and so when Mei pointed at the door, he sighed and nodded. A few gestures later, and a simple plan emerged: Mei would go in first and try to take down Kay while Charlie would keep Blue Mask and Delma busy. With Kay would be down, the odds would be even and maybe the other two would back down.

Charlie raised his hand. Mei nodded. Charlie’s hand dropped, and Mei, her grip tight on her dagger, rushed into the room.

Right into Kay’s fist.

***

“You missed the Offering.”

“What?” Dwayne stopped contemplating the rivulets of water coming down off the pavilion roof and turned to Magdala. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you…” Magdala looked away, muttered something under her breath and then faced him again. “What I meant to say was ‘Are you okay?’”

“I’m fine.” When she didn’t look convinced, Dwayne tried again with less of a shake in his voice. “I’m fine.”

“Right. You’re staying out here,” Magdala gestured to the pavilion, “in the rain, because you’re fine.”

She wasn’t going to let this go. “This is really your night,” said Dwayne. “Your Offering was amazing, you look amazing, I’m sure people are lining up to dance with you…” At this point, Dwayne’s brain heard what his mouth had said and forced it shut.

“Cups.” Magdala sat down next to Dwayne, her ears bright pink. “I’ll, uh, assume you meant that, and ask you this: shouldn’t you be in there too? What can I do to make that happen?’”

Dwayne laughed bitterly. “Undo the past so that I don’t have to tell the Queen that the man I’ve chosen to be the next Royal Sorcerer can’t be the next Royal Sorcerer?”

He tried to stand up, to leave and bear his pain in peace, but Magdala caught his hand before he could rise. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” Dwayne tried to pull his hand free. “You should go back to the Ball.”

“I will.” Magdala didn’t let go. “With you. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

She wasn’t going to let him go, and her hand warmed into his, Dwayne found that he didn’t want her to.

“Okay.” He sat back down. “Okay.”

At first telling her about Thadden’s requirements, the etiquette classes, the investigations, the snubs, the lies made Dwayne feel worse, but after a while, the pain of telling someone burned away the pain of having had to bear it all in the first place.

“He can’t do that!” Magdala’s outrage helped too. “Without you, we’d still be scrambling around in the dark.”

Dwayne hid his smile in a shrug. “Having a Head Clerk who can actually do Qe magic would make his job easier.”

“Having you makes everything easier.” Magdala’s face flushed. “I mean you make everything easier. Even casting.”

“Still, he’s my only option.”

“You’ll find another,” she started to dig around in her bodice, “But let’s address your Qe problem first.”

“Um,” Dwayne forced his eyes from where they’d followed her hand, “what are you doing?”

“Here.” Magdala took his left hand and placed a small blue ball into it. “We made this one after I talked with you the other day. I’m, uh, ‘offering’ it to you.”

“This is...” The Qe magic core still held Magdala’s warmth, and it pulsed in time with his racing heartbeat, kind of like the License Key he had in his pocket. He should thank her, but all he could think of was leaning in and… He coughed and slid back from her. “Thank you.”

“Oh.” Magdala blinked as if waking up. “Y-you’re welcome. Maybe you should try it out?”

“Yes.” Dwayne jumped to his feet and then grimaced. “How?”

“Oh, right.” Magdala stood up and stared at him. “Well, you just…” A brief debate played on her face. “I’ll show you.”

After taking position behind him, she leaned in close enough for her breath to tickle the back of his neck. “First, hold out your hand out like this.” Her chest pressed against his back as she lifted his right hand into position. “Then hold it out like this.” Her other hand slid across his back before guiding the hand that held the core into place right above his belly. “There. Now,” she stepped back, “focus on the core and cast.”

“Okay.” If Dwayne broke his stance, would she show him how all over again, maybe leave more than the memory of her holding him? It took effort to dismiss the question. “Let’s see if this works.”

There was only one good proof: a spell from the standard canon. He selecting one of the stones lining the path from the ballroom to the pavilion and called out, “Qeierut!”

The stone flashed with one of the strange symbols from the Slips Test, eagerly snapped up his magic, and the target stone… cracked.

Magdala’s face fell. “Oh.”

Dwayne grinned. “It worked.” He pointed at another stone. “Qeierut!”

Magdala stared at the second stone, which now had a crack the size of a finger tip in it, then turned to Dwayne. “It worked.” She grabbed him in a hug. “Cups, it worked!”

Despite his aching head, casting twice with the core had been as bad as casting ten times with the spell shunts, Dwayne hugged her back. “We did it.”

“We did!” Magdala let him go and went to kneel over the stricken stone. “Is the limited effect because of the core?”

“Possibly.” Dwayne knelt down next to her. “But more importantly, you think we can make a Ri core for you?”

Magdala’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, I think we can.”

“Then maybe we should-” Inside, a new waltz started up, its fast tempo reminding Dwayne what he should be doing. “Dance.”

Magdala’s eyes widened. “A-are you sure?”

Right, he should do this properly. Dwayne stood up and bowed. “Good evening, Lady Magdala Gallus.” He had just the right address for her. “May walls and mountains fall before you as they do before the waters.”

“That’s not correct.” Magdala stood up. “It’s ‘May the rains continue to bless you and your line as it plumbs the depths.’”

“I know that.” Grinning, Dwayne looked up from his bow. “But you’re not just the Water Sage’s daughter.”

“You…” Magdala turned away from him. “That’s not fair.”

“What’s not?”

“You made one up so now I have to too.” After a moment’s thought, she turned to face him. “Lord Dwayne Kalan.” She curtsied. “May the, uh, fire beneath continue to well within you and bring you to the peaks of prosperity.” She winced. “Not the best.”

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“I like it.” Cups, she was beautiful. “And no one can say its wrong.” Dwayne held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

“Young Magdala Stefanie Gallus,” Lady Vander burst out into the garden, “what are you doing?”

“Lady Aunt,” Magdala planted herself between Vander and Dwayne, “I’m having a private conversation with my cousin.”

“Oh, we will talk about him later.” Lady Vander grabbed her niece’s arm and tried to pull her away. “Your parents want a word with you.”

“Good, I want a word with them right after I say this.” Magdala freed herself and then offered a curtsy to Dwayne. “You may.”

“He may what?” asked Lady Vander.

“You’ll find out soon.” Ignoring her aunt’s protests, Magdala took her arm and pulled her away. “We mustn’t keep my parents waiting.”

After waiting a polite few moments, Dwayne rejoined Souran society, his every effort set against whooping in joy. Even the carefully blank looks of Baron Thadden and his cronies couldn’t stamp out his mood.

“So,” Lucchesi sidled up to Dwayne, “what were you two up to in the garden?”

Dwayne’s face heated. “Nothing. We just talked. She gave me this.” He showed her the core.

Lucchesi peered at it. “Huh, she gave you that one.”

Dwayne raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“It has a flaw in it. Look.” Lucchesi pointed at the center of the core, where a tiny curl in the azade had formed. “We think it’s because she was casting Qe for it. Some issue with the resulting resonance or some such nonsense.”

Dwayne’s hand closed around it. “It still works.”

“Well, of course it works or else she wouldn’t have given it to you.” Lucchesi’s eyes drifted over to where Magdala and her aunt had joined Lord and Lady Gallus. Lady Vander was already mid scold. “Oh, looks like it’s started.”

Dwayne heart tightened. “Is she in trouble?”

“Probably.” Lucchesi turned to him and held out her hand. “We should dance.”

“Pardon?”

“She asked you to dance, right? I have to make sure that you’re available until she gets her family squared away.” Lucchesi lowered her voice. “I’ve already had to trade a dance with the Andresen’s family’s firstborn and promise to tutor the Earth Sage’s granddaughter to get them to run interference. Otherwise, they’d want a dance.”

Surprise at Torben and Chloe was subsumed by shock at Magdala. “She was going to ask me?”

“Oh,” Lucchesi laughed, “so you asked her? Well, we definitely need to dance now. I have to hear all about it.”

***

While Kay’s punch sent Mei spinning to the ground, it did give her the momentum to roll out of the way of his stomping foot and then get back to her own feet with her dagger ready. Unaware of her failure, however, Charlie charged into the room, tripped on Kay’s outstretched foot, and landed flat on his face.

“Mei Ma,” Kay glanced at Charlie through a pale full-faced mask, “and some sort of degenerate?”

“Senior Scrytive Degenerate to you, young man,” said Charlie, managing to get back on his feet. “And you are under arrest.”

As Kay’s jaw dropped at this absurd announcement, Mei spared some attention for the rest of the room, which was roughly half the size of the one that held the Provisional License Registry. The area beyond the tables lit by Kay’s blue lantern was packed with more bookshelves than she’d ever seen in one place. Among these bobbed two pale blue lights, one to the far left, the other close and on the right, which were probably bug lamps like Dwayne had used back at the Tower.

Delma called out from the far left. “What was that?”

“Nothing. Don’t stop.” Kay raised his fists, his eyes tightening behind his mask. “I’ll handle this.”

Hoping to finish this before Delma or Blue Mask could rush in and help, Mei darted in. She expected Charlie to attack at the same time, but his attack came so late that Kay was able to fend Mei off with a sweep of his fist before sinking an elbow into scrytive’s belly, knocking him back to the ground. After slapping away Mei’s follow up, a quick stab at Kay’s shoulder, Kay was once again between them and his accomplices.

Coughing, Charlie got back on his feet. “Let’s try that again.”

“No.” His attacks were only getting in Mei’s way. “Go get help.”

“You can’t take them on alone.”

Mei resumed her stance. “I keep them here. Go get help.” While capturing them was clearly too ambitious, denying them time to find whatever they were looking for wasn’t.

Kay rushed forward. “I won’t let you.”

He aimed two jabs at Mei’s jaw. She ducked under both then rolled behind him. He spun, his elbow aimed at her face, but she pushed it up and away then kicked the back of his knee, making him half kneel and allowing her to get an arm around his neck.

“Go!” she shouted.

Charlie ran for the door.

“No!”

Kay flung Mei off him, and then chased after Charlie. When he reached the scrytive, Kay caught Charlie by the throat and threw him back into the room. Sidestepping Charlie’s flailing body, Mei closed with the monk, but before she could attack, he kicked her into a table, which bruised her hip and knocking the breath out of her. She only managed to suck in one breath before Kay’s hand closed around her wrist and slammed the hand that held the dagger against the table’s edge. Despite the pain, Mei held on, got her feet under her, and drove her forehead into Kay’s face. The attack made Kay reel back, but he still had the presence of mind to grab Charlie before he reached the door, and toss him back Mei’s way. This time instead of dodging, Mei caught her friend, which prevented him from knocking his head against a table.

As Mei helped him to his feet, Charlie asked, through strained breaths, “How is he so fast?”

“He’s a soldier,” answered Mei.

“Hey!” Kay pointed at her. “I am not a soldier.”

But he was now between them and the door. That was a problem not helped by how little Charlie knew about fighting. While the obvious thing would be for her and the scrytive to attack at the same time, Charlie’s timing was his own and his choice to grapple Kay instead of hitting him with a chair or table wasn’t helping.

“Mei, what do we do?” asked Charlie.

That said, His odd timing was throwing Kay off too. Charlie had almost made it to the door that time. “One more time. Together. Go!”

Mei charged at Kay, who raised his arms into a wide defensive stance designed to handle the both of them at once, but, despite Mei’s clear go ahead signal, and exactly as she expected, Charlie’s reaction was three steps behind hers, leaving Kay just confused enough for Mei to dive under his guard and driving the heel of her hand up into his chin. As the monk staggered back, Mei kept up the pressure with a slash at Kay’s chest, ripping open his white surcote as Charlie rushed past them. When Kay turned to grab the scrytive, Mei took the opportunity to pin his foot to the floor with her dagger.

“Argh!”

With the monk unable to give chase, Charlie made it out the door and into the corridor before - thunk - a red-handled knife sank into the wall beside him and - pop - Blue Mask shoulder-tackled Charlie back into the room.

“Sky, I’ll handle the degenerate!” Kay pulled Mei’s dagger out of his foot. “Get her!”

After a quick punch to stun Charlie, Blue Mask leapt to his feet and charged Mei. Snatching her dagger out of Kay’s hand, Mei tried to slash at his feet again but was forced to fend off the flurry of knives Blue Mask sent her way, giving Kay time to limp over to Charlie and haul him to his feet.

The monk wrapped an arm around Charlie’s neck. “I’ve got him.”

“Then kill him!” shouted Blue Mask.

“No!” Mei tried again to get to Charlie, but again Blue Mask’s knives forced her back. “Don’t kill him.”

“Sky, I can’t kill a scrytive.” Kay’s voice went soft. “Just like you can’t kill her.”

Blue Mask’s growl sent chills up Mei’s spine. “Then knock him out and help me. Or do you want to find out what Granite will do if we get caught?”

“Oh, we’re already caught.” In the crook of Kay’s elbow, Charlie’s face started to look splotchy in the blue light. “Unlike you, they had to pass a bunch of guards on their way in. Just deal with her so Gold can find what we came for.”

“Hold on, Charlie!” Mei slashed at Blue Mask, who danced back. “Just hold on!”

“Fine.” Blue Mask’s cold eyes settled on Mei. “I’ll do it.”

***

“I still can’t believe that you don’t see a problem with ducking into the garden with that, that, that boy!” Lady Vander’s lecture had a tendency to return to that point. “Have you read the pamphlets I sent you?”

Oh, that was new. “What pamphlets?” asked Magdala.

“These pamphlets.” Her lady aunt pulled one out, and Magdala got a quick glimpse of the words “Restoring Glory” before Gran snatched it away.

“Now, Dru,” Gran took her daughter’s arm, “I believe it’s time for you to eat. You’re eating for two after all.”

“Lady Aunt, you’re pregnant?” asked Magdala, glad the lecture was over. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you, but we must-”

“Go.” Gran winked at Magdala. “I’m sure you’ll have more to say later.”

As Gran pulled her lady aunt away, Magdala turned to her parents. “How long have you known?”

Surprisingly, her father answered instead of her mother. “She just informed us. Looks like Hans will have a baby cousin to look out for.”

“I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.” Magdala turned to her mother. “And I’m sure Mother is looking forward to being an aunt.”

Her mother response was a half-hearted “Yes, of course.”

“Sure you are.” Magdala glanced at the dance floor and then ground her teeth. Dwayne was on the dance floor with Francesca, moving in place and in time with the music. Luckily, Francesca had no interest in boys, even ones like Dwayne.

Magdala turned back to her mother. “Why am I here? You obviously want me here or else you’d have stopped Aunt Dru’s rant.”

Despite the fact that Magdala’s question had been directed at her mother, it was her father who replied. “We’re worried about how dancing with him will look now that he’s family, and we think it’s best if you expanded your horizons and sough other opportunities who would expand the family’s prospects.”

“Expand the family’s prospects?” Magdala tried to immolate her father with a glare. “You are Lord Commander, and she’s Water Sage. Short of somehow becoming Her Highness’s consort, what prospects are left for our family? I’m only asking because I thought I had until I completed my studies before you tried to marry me off.”

Her father winced. “Yes, but considering… recent events we feel that preemptive action would set things up for that eventuality.”

“Preemptive action.” Magdala scoffed. “You know what? I’ll preempt your preemption and choose Dwayne.”

Her father’s face reddened. “You can’t court Dwayne. There are other families, both lay and mage, who would be much more advantageous for-”

“‘Do what you want,’” quoted Magdala. “That’s what Mother said to me when I said I was joining Bruce College. This counts, right?”

Lord Gallus stared at his wife. “You said that?”

“I did.” Her mother’s words sounded like they came from very far off. “And you’ve done more than I could have imagined.”

Why wasn’t her mother angry? Magdala tried to provoke. “Maybe I’m finally stepping out of your shadow.

That brought her mother into the moment. “Are you? Or are you just stepping into his shadow? You shouldn’t let contrariness and infatuation lead you away astray.”

“Why not? It’s what you did.”

Her mother’s eyes widened. “It is not what-” She turned away. “Go.”

Magdala blinked. “No, we should talk about this.”

Her father put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “No, you should go.”

“Why are you pulling back?”

“The next dance will start soon.” Her father was already leading her mother away. “You chose this course. Commit to it.”

As her parents disappeared into the crowd, Francesca brought Dwayne over. “Are you done?”

No. “Yes.” Magdala she turned to Dwayne. “Ready to dance?”

The Ri mage searched her face. “Are you?”

“Yes, she is.” Francesca kissed Magdala on the cheek. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered.

“Thanks.” Magdala nodded to Dwayne. “She’s right. Let’s dance. Oh, before we do… nQerm.” Blue flooded her dress, overwhelming the green and leaving black finned silver fishes in place of the golden axes.

Dwayne’s jaw dropped. “The Kalan family colors.”

And a declaration of intent. Magdala offered him her hand. “Ready?”

He took it. “Ready.”

They walked on to the dance floor and assumed the stance, his left hand holding her right hand aloft, her left hand resting on his shoulder, his right hand resting against her shoulder blade. It was both less and more intimate than the excited hug they’d shared earlier, less because there was still space between their bodies, more because his eyes would not leave hers.

Dwayne leaned in. “Want to try something a little more interesting?”

Her answer came immediately. “Yes.”

“Then, follow my lead.”

Magdala smiled. “Okay.”

The music started and Dwayne’s first step turned the world and left Magdala’s concerns behind.

***

As she dodged and parried Blue Mask’s knives, Mei tried to think of a way out of her predicament, but with Charlie losing the fight to remain conscious, she would soon have to face two opponents alone. The only good thing was that Blue Mask was a far less fearsome opponent than Kay as long as she ignored how easy it was to find her brother in his every grunt, growl, and slash.

Hoping to end this quickly, Mei kicked a chair at Blue Mask then used it as cover to get close and slash at his stomach. After parrying her attack with a black handled knife, Blue Mask tried to slash her with it, but she’d already disengaged, forcing him to throw it instead. Mei knocked away the knife and then waited for Blue Mask to advance.

But he didn’t. Of course, he didn’t have to because, just like back on the roof, Blue Mask could play for time, and without her rifle, Mei didn’t have a definitive strike. Worse, she was breathing hard, sweating harder, and, despite her best efforts, growing desperate and frustrated. During a hunt, these were signs that she should quit, but she had to keep going. Blue Mask and Kay had created a snare made of time and Charlie’s fading consciousness, where each failed attack, each failed attempt to escape, Mei’s options grew fewer and fewer.

However, Kay’s foot was hurt, and Delma was still searching so maybe there was a way for Mei to get time back on her side again. She just had to change targets.

Mei darted into the shelves.

“Damn it, Mei!”

When a black-handled knife thunked into a book right by her head, Mei didn’t stop, running deeper into the shelves and towards Delma’s bobbing blue light. She’d have to be careful; the cut the wind dancer had inflicted on Dwayne would end this fight for good. On the other hand, even mages couldn’t read and defend themselves at the same time.

“Get back here, Mei!”

That sounded like- No, focus. Mei rounded a corner and charged up the aisle at Delma, who frowned before saying, “You!”

“Me.” Not wanting to throw her dagger, Mei grabbed a book off a shelf and threw it instead. Thunk. A red handled knife sank into the floor in front of Delma. Pop. Blue Mask burst into view. Bam. Mei’s book hit him instead of Delma, making him fall backwards. As the wind mage opened her mouth, Mei dove for cover.

“Qezisarmisuotlo!”

Delma’s spell cut up wood, leather and paper, which rained on Mei as she ducked into the next aisle. Crawling, Mei made her way up the aisle. She just had to get behind them.

“Why is she here?” asked Delma.

“I have it handled,” said Blue Mask. “Did you find it?”

“It’s not here.”

“Then keep looking.”

“No, it’s not here!”

Reaching the end of the aisle, Mei pulled another book off the shelf and prepared herself to round the corner. Turns out reading wasn’t the only thing she could use books for.

“It has to be here,” said Blue Mask.

“Sky, this is an organized collection. If it were here, it would be right here.”

Delma was calling off the search. Not good. Mei had to move now, but all she had were her dagger, books, and surprise while they had Charlie, lights, manpower, and magic.

Mei removed her jacket. She had to even those scales.

***

Dwayne’s first step into Magdala tested her faith in him, and while she did flinch and her eyes widened with fear, she immediately leaned back and added her momentum to his, and suddenly it was as easy as walking. While Magdala lacked her roommate’s studied poise or Odette’s libertine grace, her hands, eyes, hips were far easier for Dwayne to read, just he was an open book to her. That meant that when they passed close to a couple, one of whom dressed in a blue dress the color of the sea, and Magdala’s hand tightened on his, Dwayne knew to spin them away, and when he tensed as they approached Thadden’s table, she knew to widen her step and rush them past the baron’s scowl. They even ended up orbiting Francesca and her partner for a happy moment before resuming their course around the room.

When the music slowed, they slowed with it, their steps still in time, their course becoming a slow drift. As the lack of speed drew them closer and closer, Magdala’s hand made circles on his back, Dwayne’s eyes dropped to her lips, and their breaths synced up.

When the music stopped, it took a long time for them to follow, but when they did, Dwayne gazed down at Magdala, a ridiculous grin on his face. Then she reached up and kissed him. If Dwayne had anticipated that, planned for it, then he’d have worried that his inexperience would ruin it, but he hadn’t even begun to consider her kissing him a possibility, and so nothing, not the worry or the panic or a crowd full of Sourans, stopped him from kissing her back.

“Are they kissing?”

Suddenly, Dwayne realized that he, a Wesen boy, was kissing the daughter of the Water Sage and the Lord Commander right after her first dance of the Harvest Ball in front of merchants, nobles, and royalty and that all his efforts to have his participation in this event pass unmemorably from people’s were now so much vapor in the wind.

He pulled back. “I’m sorry. I-”

“Dwayne.” Magdala didn’t let him go. “It’s okay. I want this.”

But the part of Dwayne that could rejoice at those words was already drowning under the stares, scowls, and glares of Soura’s society. “I have to go.”

He fled the dance floor, mutters and whispers lashing at him as he passed.

“I wonder what he has over her.”

“That whole family has strange taste. Remember Lord Kalan?”

“Think of how their children would look!”

When he made it out of the ballroom, Dwayne fell back against the wall and finally panic gave way to the implications of what had just happened. Magdala had kissed him. He’d kissed her back. And then he’d run away. Cups, if she thought that that was him rejecting her, then why would she ever talk to him again?

“Young Kalan?” Flanked by two Royal Guards, the Head Clerk of the Royal Secretary’s Office did not look happy.

Dwayne blinked. “Dame Sercombe? What is it?”

“Her Majesty summons you to the Throne Room.”

That was an entirely different reason to flee the scene, but at least Dwayne had had time to prepare for this. Rodion and Magdala had seen to that.

“Understood.” Dwayne made sure his suit was straight. “Let’s go.”

He’d have to deal with one crisis at a time.