Chapter 176

Chapter 176
{Lisa’s POV}

I kissed him because nothing else seemed to carry everything I felt. The room blurred for a second, applause folding over us like warm hands, and when Ronan pressed his forehead to mine I felt the tension leave him.

His breath evened, his fingers tightened around mine, and for a moment the world narrowed to the two of us and a quiet sense of relief I had not allowed myself to own until then.

The Elder blew a whistle and the band I didn't even notice struck up, waiters threading through clusters of people with trays. It was almost shocking how quickly they went from the chaos of battle. To the chaos of celebrating. 

The chamber filled with movement. Ronan was quickly swept away by a tide of voices and congratulations, a prize being passed from hand to hand.

I watched him go, lighter than I had been in weeks, and then I turned and found Damon at my shoulder, his expression the careful kind that tries to look steady for someone else.

“You planned that,” I said, because it was true. “You timed it perfectly.”

He gave me a half smile that did not reach his eyes. “I did what I could. You all deserved the truth.”

I caught the tremor in his voice. “About the file?”

He exhaled. “About everything…It was time.”

“You stood in the eye of a storm,” I said, stepping forward to hug him. When my arms closed around him I felt the hard lines of his back under my hands, and for a second I wanted to tell him how much I appreciated him. Instead I squeezed him tighter.

“Don’t leave,” I said when we broke apart. “The crowd stole my husband and now the security stole Sean and Colt. I need a trusted ally.”

He laughed, brief and a little broken. “At your service, ma’am.”

I hooked my arm through his and pulled him toward the loose space where the musicians had left a strip of empty floor. “Dance with me,” I said, because the absurd hope that things could be ordinary for a small while felt urgent.

He obliged, stepping closer, his hand warm at the small of my back.

We moved without ceremony, the music carrying us through a polite waltz that felt oddly defiant in a room that had been a place for fighting moments ago.

Halfway through the chorus Damon stopped as if a thought had arrested him. I followed his line of sight and saw Ronan across the room, his jaw tight, his posture all containment and warning.

He was talking with men who wanted to bend his ear, and his gaze cut across to Damon with something volatile simmering behind it.

“Be gentle,” I murmured, because I knew how easily things could spiral. “We can pick a fight another day.”

He gave me one of those looks that said he was trying to smile and failing. “You should rest,” he said instead.

I was only a few steps away when a hand closed on the back of my head like a hook. 

Pain flared along my scalp, sudden and biting. Whatever thought I had evaporated into an involuntary sound that escaped me. Drinks stopped midair, conversations thinned, the orchestra’s bows hesitated.

“Let go,” I said, trying to make the word even. My fingers found the hand at my hair and felt Lena’s grip, fingers hard and possessive.

“You will pay, Lisa! You will pay for stealing him.” She hissed.

“Do you have no sense of accountability? You left Ronan, not the other way around.” I spat.

The room narrowed until it was mostly the graveness of her face and the angry pressure in my skull.

“For God's sake, change.” I added.

Ronan moved with stunning speed, like he had showcased so many times today. One moment he was across the room. The next, he was just by me. His hand found mine then he was at Lena’s back before she could steam herself for another line.

“Let go of her, Lena,” Ronan said.

She laughed in a brittle, contemptuous way. “The king comes to the queen’s rescue. How touching,” she said, as though the honor of a title would  not be enough to frighten her.

“You step away,” Ronan said. “Now.”

“Do you mind?” I asked Lena. “There are better ways to ask for attention.”

“Leave,” she said simply. “Go back to where you belong. Or I will make sure there is nowhere left for you to hide.”

The threat had been spoken so often it was like a ritual. For a breath I almost laughed at how small it sounded, then felt foolish. This was not about pride. It was about fear.

Damon stepped in front of me and did not look heroic. He looked tired and furious and real. “Touch her again and I will make sure it costs you everything,” he said to Lena.

Lena tilted her head and smiled in a way that meant she was ready to throw down any time the rules bent for her. “That is rich, coming from you,” she said. “Where were you when blows were being taken, when action mattered?”

Her claws protracted and she growled.

Damon remained silent for a bit. And just as he was about to respond. Ronan cut in.

“Enough.”

“Elric,” he called, because the chief Elder was the calm force this needed.

Elric stepped forward, voice carrying the authority of weight and age. “This is not a tribunal for personal vendetta. Miss Lena will answer for public assault. We will adjourn and handle private matters properly.”

He glanced over to Bryan and Selena who attempted to blur into the background, then added. “Same applies to them. They might be human, but they were involved.”

Ronan was pulled back into the current of those who wanted his hand. He left with a smile that was both weary and victorious, people pressing in with petitions and promises.

Before he finally did. He leaned in to kiss my forehead. As he did, I teased. “Where's the big bad transformation? I know you didn't do all that for some imaginary title.”

He laughed. “You'll see it soon enough. Until then, you just have to be patient.”

I watched him go and felt a small, fierce gratitude. “Ok, I'll be expecting you.

Damon remained at my side. He offered his arm as if nothing had shifted, and I took it, glad of the solidity. We danced a slow, ridiculous circle between tables while the band found its rhythm again and the hall tried to forget the moment.