Ash brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, catching a loose strand of hair between his fingers. "Ive seen thousands of mortal girls," he said softly, "more than you could ever count, from all corners of your world. To me, theyre all the same." His finger slid below her chin, tilting her head up. "They see only this outer shell, not who I really am, beneath. You have. Youve seen me without the glamour and the illusions, even the ones I show my family, the farce I maintain just to survive. Youve seen who I really am, and yet, youre still here." He brushed his thumb over her skin, leaving a trail of icy heat. "Youre here, and the only dance I want is this one."


"Not if the old hag wouldn't have stopped me! It would've been great!" Puck proclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

She blushes and looks away. However, she's smiling a little.

As the last strains of music shivered across the gym floor, Ash lowered his head, his lips grazing her ear. "We have company," he murmured, his breath cool on her skin.

" It would have been insane. Teenagers plus alcohol equals chaos.

She turns to look.

"Exactly! And it would've been so fun! Just picture it: everyone...actually, most of them would probably be dancing the same. But! Just imagine how the nurse would react," he said, snickering.


A pair of slitted golden orbs stared at Isiea from a table, floating in midair above the flowery centerpiece. Grimalkin appeared, bushy tail curled around himself, watching her. No one else in the room seemed to notice a large gray cat sitting in the middle of the table; they moved around and past him without a single glance.

" she would have yelled at you. A lot. "

"Ugh, great." She sighs. "Watch out if that stupid cat comes near me- I'll start sneezing a whole bunch."

"That's only assuming she didn't drink any," he said, pulling her up out of her chair and over to Grim.


"Just stay here for a moment, then," he said, going to see what Grim wanted.

She waits.