Chapter 25: Twenty-Five: Mal

I've never wanted to kill another being as badly as I wanted to kill Nero right this second.

My logical brain knew, of course, that we would have had to return to dinner soon regardless. That Nero had needed to come and fetch us at all meant I had already indulged too much in Alchimia and her perfection. But the primal part of me that was threatening to emerge and make her my own at any moment was furious. There was no telling how much of it he had seen, and for some reason, this made me more upset, even, than the interruption itself.

This was going to be a problem. Once I did complete the bond, and we were living in Echelon as husband and wife, how was I meant to guard against the jealousy that was sure to arise? The city wasn't exactly known for housing healthy monogamous relationships.

Was that even what she would want?

Alchimia thought she was having genuine feelings for me right now. When she found out why, and found out that I had been lying to her this whole time, there was a possibility that even our soul tie wouldn't be able to douse the fires of her hatred for me. I could still taste her on my tongue as we rejoined the rest of the ball. I gave Nero his instructions as we walked in together, and he disappeared to take care of Kako. Back in reality, all of my brainpower was focused on keeping Alchimia safe. I would have neither jealousy nor rage to contend with in my future if we did not survive the night. For the most part, I let Nero do his thing while I watched Chimi accept the rest of her gifts, but now and then I glanced in the enchanter's direction.

He seemed to be rubbing everyone he spoke to the wrong way. By the time we reached the last course of the meal and the last set of gifts, he was pushing food around his plate, sullen and lonesome as if he'd been bullied. It felt like a caricature of what it might feel like to be a non-royal enchanter in Echelon, and I remained suspicious. My instincts told me that he wouldn't call this much attention to himself if he planned to strike.

As the final guest took their seat for the night, I leaned over to Alchimia to whisper, "Stay close. If Kako has a plan, he's the distraction, not the key."

Her violet eyes made one swift, exaggerated trip around her eye socket. "Thank you for this most insightful observation, dear Mal," she teased. "I would have never come to that conclusion on my own. There." Her eyes darted to the outskirts of the room where a server I'd never seen before, a young boy dressed in near-rags, stood calm and cold with the rest of the staff. While they busied themselves cleaning up, he did not move. "Send Presta over to him when she arrives. I'll be on the dance floor."

Before I could protest, Nero arrived to escort her. The Queen's chief consort, a high elf, brought her to the center of the dance floor, followed by Nero and Alchimia and then the rest of the court. I slipped away as the crowd of guests flooded the floor around them. My heart thumped in my chest from the combination of anxiety and exhilaration. I was anxious about being away from her, even though Nero was the next best thing to myself for keeping her safe. But I was exhilarated because we had two suspicious party guests we could take care of.

"Malfizan," hissed a voice as it whizzed past my ear. I turned to see a young girl with straight red hair dressed in a pink ball gown and--*oh.*

"Perfect, just the woman I wanted to see. Come, dance with me." I held my hand out to Presta and she took it, allowing me to lead her as close to the center of the trail as I could. The music blaring around us was a dark rock ballad. I pulled her against me and was sure to match the tempo of the other partygoers, though everyone seemed to be doing their own thing. Dinner had worked precisely as designed, and almost all the attendants were drunk already. "There's a boy. Dressed like the staff. A child we've never seen before. We need to find out what's going on with him."

There was a swell in the music and I pulled my body out, extending my arm so I could twirl Presta in front of me. Breathless, she spun back into my arms and said, "I will. But first I have a question."

I spun her back around so she could face me again and pulled her against me once more. "Of course. We have a whole dance left to talk."

"My brother says you brought Alchimia to the ball yourself."

Even the mention of Reus's name perturbed me. "I did. Your brother was entirely out of line. I found them in the hall and--"

Presta put a finger up to my lips, and we stopped moving. "No, no, I know. He told me what happened. I'm glad you were there. He has been...out of his mind, recently. Alchimia does that to him. You know how men are. I just wanted to say that I'm grateful you did not do more than send him away for his offense. I will keep him away from the Princess from now on. Anyway, you are her rightful guardian, Malfizan. I hope that when this is all over, Zeus ends his silly engagement and makes way for the two of you."

I opened my mouth to answer her, but before I got the chance, a movement caught my eye. I watched as Alchimia stopped dancing with Nero, and began to speak to him in panicked, angry whispers. She pointed and looked at Presta and me, and I realized immediately what had happened. It was like the bar all over again, and no one must have told Alchimia that Presta would be attending the bar in disguise. I saw Nero trying to explain to her, reaching for her to keep her from starting a scene. Luckily, the people around us hadn't noticed anything. That was the beauty of drunk.

"Go," I told Presta just as her friend began to remove her shoes. "Go and find the boy. I'll take care of her."

Alchimia took off barefoot, fleeing the ballroom in the direction of the open doors which were allowing guests in and out now that the real party had begun. I followed suit, struggling to keep up with her. We ran through the gardens, out the gate, and down the street. People jumped out of our way, many of them gasping and shouting. They knew who she was. More than upset, she was vulnerable. This was not like it had been before when no one had seen her face yet. Now we were out in the open and she was easily identifiable.

"CHIMI, STOP."