Deadly Dance

"You'll want to stay close to Nicolas tonight," the guard muttered as I entered the ballroom. "We've spotted three Council members."

"Noted." I shifted, feeling the blade against my thigh beneath the burgundy silk. "And Elena?"

"Grand staircase. Watching your every move."

"Perfect." I scanned the room, keeping my smile fixed. "Just like the spider she is."

"Mrs. Salvatore," another guard approached. "Security positions are set."

"And the mirrors she's having installed?"

"Positioned to reflect magical signatures. She's testing you."

"Let her try." I moved forward, every step measured. "Have eyes on—"

"Mama!" Twin voices pierced through my concentration. Sofia and Luna ran toward me, their matching platinum curls bouncing. They stopped short, faces scrunching in that peculiar way that meant they were seeing something they shouldn't.

"Girls," I said, forcing Valentina's warm smile. "You look beautiful in your—

"You're flickering," Luna whispered, reaching for my hand. "Like a candle in the wind."

Sofia nodded solemnly. "Two flames. One gold, one blue."

My heart stuttered. I crouched down, keeping my voice low. "What else do you see, my loves?"

"The shadow people are here," Sofia's voice shook. "They wear masks under their faces."

Elena's heels clicked on marble as she made her way down. I straightened, placing myself between her and the girls. "Valentina, darling," she called out. "You remember Madame Rousseau? Your old dance instructor?"

"Of course." The lie slid smoothly off my tongue. "Though I'm afraid much is still. fuzzy."

"Such a tragedy, that accident." Elena's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Perhaps being around old friends will help you remember."

A waiter approached Nicolas, who stood chatting with donors near the champagne fountain. The blood oath's warning flared hot in my chest – *danger*.

"Excuse me," I murmured, gliding toward them. The waiter's hand moved toward a cloth tucked in his sleeve. Poison.

I reached Nicolas just as the waiter "stumbled," sending champagne splashing toward my husband's immaculate suit. My own handkerchief appeared as if by magic, intercepting the poisoned cloth.

"Let me," I said, dabbing at Nicolas's jacket. The would-be assassin's eyes met Elena's across the room. *Confirmation*.

"Save me a dance," Nicolas murmured, his hand brushing my lower back. The touch sent an arc of electricity down my spine, even as I tracked the trio of Hunters moving into position around us.

The orchestra launched into a waltz; Elena's voice cut across it: "Oh, Valentina! They're playing your piece-the one you did for your graduation recital."

Those first notes were like a deluge of ice water. A binding melody, one used in ancient Hunter rituals. My magical disguise began to slip as the power threaded its way through the air.

"Dance with me," Nicolas said, drawing me in against him. His body was hot and hard. Real, somehow, in a way my neat self-protective barriers tended to quiver about.

"Nicolas," I breathed, "we really should-"

"Should what?" Dark eyes in a chiseled face with sharply slanted brows searched mine. "You have been different since you woke up. Much harder. Much sharper." A tightening of his hand at my waist. "Who are you, really, love?

Before I could reply, the twins' shrieks cut through the music. "The shadows!" Luna wailed. "They are devouring everything!"

I whipped around in Nicolas's arms. The Hunters had activated their rings, generating a damping field that caused my magic to visibly stutter. Elena stood guarding the main exit, triumph etched on her face.

The "photographer" posed Nicolas for a shot, runic arrays gathering power around us. I had seconds to choose-my cover or his life.

*To hell with it.*

I released my power in a burst that shattered the Hunter's spell and sent their glamours crashing down. Weapons glinted in the chandelier light. Guests screamed. Security swarmed.

"Papa!" Sofia clung to my leg, Luna right behind her. "Mama's fire kept the bad shadows from getting us!"

Nicolas stared at me, a thousand questions in his eyes. I held his gaze, letting him see the truth I couldn't speak.

"We have to get moving," I said, voice steady despite the bedlam around us. "Now."

His hand found mine, firm and solid. "Together."

Elena's enraged shriek followed as we ran, the twins hugged tight between us. I had compromised my cover, but Nicolas was alive. And maybe-maybe that was worth what I had lost.

He jerked me down a service hall as the twins clung to them and both of us. "When this is done," he rasped, "we're going to talk about this for a long, long time."

I nodded, feeling the last threads of my deception unraveling. Two hundred days suddenly felt very, very short.

"Time's running out," I whispered.

"For them," Nicolas replied, his voice hard as steel. "Not for us."

The sound of pursuit echoed behind us. I drew my blade as Nicolas pulled his gun. The twins huddled closer, their small hands finding mine.

This wasn't how I'd planned to reveal myself. But as I stood there, surrounded by the family I never meant to claim, I realized some secrets were worth dying for.

And some truths were worth living for.

Sofia tugged my dress. "Mama?"

"Yes, love?"

"Your fire is beautiful when you let it shine."

I squeezed her hand, tears threatening. "Let's get you somewhere safe. Then Mama needs to finish this dance."

Nicolas's eyes met mine in the dim light. "Together," he said again. Not a question this time.

 

A promise.

 

"Together," I agreed, and felt the weight of two hundred days pressing against my heart. But for now, we had a battle to win.

 

And I'd always been good at dancing with death.