Chapter 164 Chapter 164
Chapter 164 Chapter 164
Amber
I opened my mouth to answer him but just then I saw a fair hand with painted nails lightly tap on Damian’s shoulder.
One of the girls from the chosen ones to dance with the heirs, Elara looked at Damian expectantly.
The one who never took her silver earrings off and also the one Damian warned me to be careful around.
But right now, she wasn’t even looking at me. She didn’t look like a deadly assassin but a desperate girl craving the attention of her crush.
From up close, I saw how she angled herself towards Damian, leaning forward slightly. She was tall with dark hair cascading over one shoulder, dressed in a shimmering deep blue dress that clung like it had been painted on.
She just stood there with a bright, expectant smile, one hand already extended forward, towards Damian.
“Mind if I borrow him?” she asked me in an overly sweet voice without even looking at me.
“We are still dancing” I looked her up and down but she only twirled a strand of her hair idly, still looking at Damian like she wanted to climb him like a tree.
“The heirs are supposed to change partners. It is tradition, you know.”
My fingers tightened on Damian’s jacket for half a second before I forced them to loosen.
The disappointment from earlier still sat heavy under my ribs. Adding this on top of it made something sharp and ugly twist in my chest.
Damian was already loosening his grip on me and so I nodded reluctantly and a second later, my hand slipped free of his.
“Of course.”
The girl wasted no time. She took Damian’s hand like it already belonged to her and led it straight to her waist.
Her other hand rose, fingers sliding over his in a slow, deliberate intertwine.
And as if that wasn’t enough, she very openly and without even a shred of subtlety guided his palm lower, letting it rest against the curve of her ass while she gave him a knowing smile.
His words from earlier of how they had all approached him before rang in my ears. If she was being so direct in front of an entire crowd and Caspian being right there on the stage, I could only shudder imagining how brazen she must have been without an audience.
My fingers curled into fists as she batted her eyelashes at him.
“You dance beautifully,” she murmured. “I’ve been watching. Everyone has, really.”
She pressed closer, body aligning with his as the music continued. “I was hoping I’d get a turn…to see your skills..personally”
I looked around to scan the crowd for Caspian who was dancing with another girl, unbothered to check what his faction member was doing with an opponent.
Did he not mind? Or was this a way of sending spies after the rival heirs?
Damian’s expression stayed unreadable.
He didn’t encourage her but he didn’t pull away either.
He simply moved when she did, displaying the same controlled grace he had used with me, and that somehow made it worse.
And I was hyperaware of the way her fingers stroked the back of his hand, the way she tilted her head so her hair brushed his shoulder and the soft, delighted sound she made when he turned her under the lights.
Fuck me how were these girls so direct when I had to struggle to keep breathing with him around me.
I couldn’t even imagine being so demanding and bold with him.
So like the idiot I was, I stood there for a long moment, fists curled at my sides, watching her lean in and laugh at something he must have said too quietly for me to hear.
The sound grated against my nerves like sandpaper. Every tilt of her head, every flutter of her lashes, every casual brush of her body against his sent another spike of heat and irritation through me.
My stomach clenched. I could still feel the press of his hand at my waist, the way he had looked at me when he promised afterward…and now…seeing him dance with someone else was making me see red.
I turned away before I did something stupid in front of the entire academy.
I meant to climb down the stage and meet my friends but just two steps later, someone stepped in my way.
I didn’t bother looking up. “Step aside please”
“Leaving so soon? I thought we were friends”
I looked up to see Soren standing in front of me.
He stood a few feet off, hands in his pockets, that same lazy half-smile on his golden-skinned face.
A faint scar I hadn’t noticed before ran through his eyebrow and caught the light when he tilted his head.
His eyes were sharp despite the easy posture and his gaze flicked once toward Damian and the girl, then back to me.
“Dance with me.”
I had enough dancing for tonight.
I shook my head immediately and offered him a tight lipped smile.
“I’ve spent enough time on this stage. Thanks for asking, but I’m done.”
“Jealousy has never been a good look on anyone.”
The words stopped me cold. I turned back to face him fully, the cold night air suddenly sharper against my bare shoulders.
“Excuse me?”
He took a step closer, apparently pleased to get that surprised reaction from me but didn’t elaborate on it.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I tried again.
Soren’s smile widened a fraction. He held out a hand with his palm up and subtly nodded towards Damian’s direction.
“I could show you,” he replied, “if you let me.”
Every instinct told me to keep walking.
The smarter part of me knew engaging with another heir right now was a terrible idea. Soren always spoke in half-truths and layered implications.
Nothing with him was ever simple. But the image of that girl’s hand on Damian’s ass was still burning behind my eyes, and Soren’s cryptic little comment had hooked itself under my skin like a thorn I couldn’t get rid of.
I placed my hand in his reluctantly and he drew me in with easy confidence, settling into a slower rhythm than the one Damian had used.
His hold was lighter, and definitely less possessive, but still firm enough to guide.
One hand rested at the center of my back while the other kept mine loosely clasped. We moved across a quieter corner of the stage while the other pairs continued around us in a blur of color and motion.
But somehow my eyes kept drifting towards Damian who shone like a bright flame, attracting a horde of moths wanting to die in his fire.
Grrrr!