“This is quite good! I believe I am getting drunk.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was apple juice.
Apparently, neither did anyone else.
I leaned over toward Sera. “So…Vanniv. Isn’t he technically only, like, ten weeks old?”
“This copy of him might be, sure, but he has the memories of his original self. Who is twenty, thank-you-very-much.”
I chuckled. “And the fact that he’s compelled to obey your every whim doesn’t strike you as unethical?”
“Please, Corin. I’m showing him off at a fancy party. Vanniv and I are both too classy—”
Vanniv broke off the top of a second bottle, but a little too hard this time, spilling half the contents on the table.
“Correction.” Sera sighed. “I am far too classy to do anything untoward with my control of a summoned monster.”
I laughed. “Fair.”
I turned away, focusing on eating my food.
I didn’t mention the fact that I was pretty sure that Sera had told us she had a date for the ball before she’d made her contract with Vanniv.
If she wanted to play this off like it was her plan all along, I wasn’t going to get in her way.
She deserved a chance to smile and laugh. And, as weird as it might have seemed, Vanniv did, too.
Sera wasn’t going to let me get away with teasing her without a bit of retribution, though. “So, Corin. You’re looking quite charming in that new outfit. I can tell that at least one person is particularly taken with it.”
Oh no.
I coughed. “Please don’t tell me—”
“He’s staring right at you. Quite brazenly, in fact. My, my.”
I sighed, turning to find that Jin had relocated to lean against a different wall, but that he was still watching me. He noticed that I’d noticed him and tilted his hat downward.
He’s…not going to stop doing that, is he?
I set my fork down. “I’ll be right back.”
“Good luck! Don’t get your heart broken.”
I shook my head as I left the table, heading toward Jin.
“Corin,” he said amiably as I approached. “What a surprise to find you here.”
I folded my arms. “You could stare at me a little less, you know.”
Jin smirked. “Why? There’s nothing else that interests me here.”
Do not be charmed.
He is not charming.
There is no charming happening here. None.
“While I appreciate your interest, there are plenty of fascinating people here. And a band! Playing music. You could watch the band.”
“Watching the band isn’t what people come to a ball for, Corin.” He pointed a hand toward another section of the room.
The dancing section.
I watched the distant figures swaying together in harmony. Holding each other close.
It was a romantic ideal. The kind of thing that we’d read about as children, seen in plays and operas.
How could I justify doing that with someone who I didn’t trust?
My jaw tightened. “I haven’t forgiven you. I can’t forgive you.”
Jin looked away. “I know. I don’t expect you to. But that conflict we had…does that really cancel out the things we’ve shared?”
“No,” I shook my head, “But it does make it difficult for me to want to have anything to do with you.”
Jin winced. “It would appear I’ve made a mistake in coming here.” He nodded, more to himself then to me. “Have a good night, Corin.”
He turned to leave.
I spoke without thinking. “Wait.”
Jin turned toward me, raising an eyebrow.
“One song.”
Jin tilted his head.
“I’ll dance with you for one song. That’s it. No more.”
Jin exhaled heavily. “…I understand.” He spoke again, more quietly. “I’ll be glad to have a chance to dance with you at all.”
He led the way toward the dance area.
He took my hands.
We swayed together, awkwardly at first.
Don’t forget what he did.
This doesn’t mean anything.
The song ended.
We continued to sway, even in the silence.
Minutes passed.
Perhaps hours.
Finally, I broke away.
“Thank you, Corin.” Jin bowed at the waist. “You have made my evening worthwhile.”
I bowed in return. “I…good night, Jin.”
“Good night, Corin.”
Jin disappeared into the crowd.
I breathed a sigh of relief, slipping back to the table.
Sera waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively.
I just glared at her. I couldn’t even articulate my thoughts, I certainly couldn’t come up with anything clever to say.
I settled for eating my now-cold food. It was still pretty good.
I found myself finally starting to relax a little bit, now that Jin was gone, and I had something to focus on aside from my insecurities.
Unfortunately, my insecurities were creeping up right behind me.
“C…Corin?”
I froze at the sound of that voice, my fork still in-hand.
Gently, I set the tool down, and turned to face the horror behind me.
The young woman was just my age, with her auburn hair cut just above the shoulders. She wore large, round glasses with tiny runes etched into the frames.
Her dress was white with silver accents. Her family colors, that I’d seen a hundred times. It was accented by a large silver broach, etched with runes that were easier to read if I had the ability to pay any attention.
The frilly white umbrella she carried was very traditionally ladylike. It didn’t suit her in the slightest.
My voice caught in my throat. It wasn’t because I was choking, fortunately.
“Um, hello. I don’t know if you remember me, but, um…”
“Cecily,” I managed, somehow.
She let out a heavy breath, although I couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or mortification. “You remembered me. That’s, uh, good, I suppose. I just…wanted…can we talk for a minute?”
I glanced from side to side.
Vanniv gave me a hugely exaggerated wink, and Sera followed it with a hand-sign that was either supportive or some kind of lewd gesture.
I looked back at Cecily. “Sure.”
“Okay, good.” She took another breath. “This is good. Can, uh, we have the talk in private?”
I stood up, glancing to the others. “I’ll be right back.”
“Not a problem, Corin. We’ll be here.” Patrick grinned at me. “Good to see you, Cecily.”
She seemed to ease up just a little at Patrick’s comment. “Thanks, Patrick. It’s nice to see you, too.”
Cecily reached out for my hand. I stared at it for a moment, then processed how crowded it was and the necessity of her gesture before accepting it.
Cecily led me through the crowd…and then outside the room entirely.
I followed, breathing heavily as we moved through the groups of people, and feeling a little less anxious once we managed to get outside of the ballroom. She seemed to have some idea of where she was leading me, at least.
The term “murder hallway” somehow jumped into my mind.
I was getting ambushed entirely too frequently. It was possible that it had done something bad to my nerves.