Page 26 of The Arbiter
“But you won’t.”
Another slow turn across the dance floor. His lips brush dangerously against my own, his warmth a sharp contrast to the cold finality of his words.
“And that,” he whispers.
“Is what makes this so much fun.”
“You’re insane.”
It’s the only answer I can manage. My mind is a whirlwind of logic and fear, yet my body remains anchored to his.
“Possibly.”
I can feel his lips slip into the faintest smirk against my skin.
“You should go back to your friend,” he says, his voice softer now, almost dismissive.
The sudden change catches me off guard. My heart, which had been racing in his presence, skips a beat for an entirely different reason.
“Why?”
“Because,” he says calmly.
“The rest of my night requires privacy.”
Jake.
The realization hits instantly. My words die in my throat because his hand suddenly leaves my back. The loss of contact feels immediate and jarring, like something vital has just been ripped from the air between us.
He steps away. Just one step. But it’s enough for the swirling crowd to swallow him almost instantly. Black fabric. Mask. Movement. And then he’s simply… Gone.
I turn quickly, scanning the dance floor. People spin beneath the chandeliers. Laughter echoes. Someone spills a drink near the bar. A couple argues near the wall. But there’s no sign of him. No black mask. No pale streak of hair. Nothing.
“Jesus, there you are!”
Lucy's voice crashes into the moment like a brick.
I spin around just in time to catch her stumbling toward me through the crowd, one heel barely cooperating with the polished floor. Her cheeks are flushed, her mascara slightly smudged, and she’s holding a champagne glass like a trophy above her head.
“There you—“
She squints at me, blinking hard.
“Why do you look so flushed?”
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out. Because across the room, somewhere beyond the moving bodies and flickering lights, I swear I feel it again. The same quiet pressure. Like eyes watching me from the dark.
Lucy hooks her arm through mine before I can say anything.
“Okay,” she declares loudly, already pulling me toward the exit.
“We're leaving before I embarrass myself in front of the entire pathology department.”
I let her drag me away. But as we reach the doors, I glance back at the dance floor one last time. And for a split second. I think I see smoke curling upward near the far wall. Thin. Gray. Fading into the shadows. Like someone just finished a cigarette.
CHAPTER 7 - Deimos
I waited in the shadows, a silent specter, until Madeline and Lucy left. Mali kept glancing over her shoulder the entire way out. Searching. Looking for me. Looking for my presence in the crowd.
