Page 142 of Elemental Becoming

But I don’t flinch. I don’t let my gaze drop. I don’t give her what she wants. I know exactly what she’s trying to do.

She wants to make me feel insecure.

Instead, I angle my head, offering her a small, knowing smile.

“Perhaps he just needed the right reason.”

Something sharp and calculating passes through her hazel eyes. But she recovers too quickly, her smile smoothing backinto place.

“Perhaps,” she murmurs.

A quiet pause settles between us as we continue assessing one another, neither willing to yield an inch.

I can play this game, too.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” she muses, lifting her chin as the sapphire fabric of her gown catches the chandelier light.

“What is?” I ask, keeping my tone light and even.

“Seeing a man who never let himself belong to anyone . . . suddenly belong to someone.”

I sweep a few braids off my shoulder as though entirely unbothered.

She is too composed. Enjoying this interaction too much. And suddenly, I realize something else. She was waiting for Thane to notice. She wanted to see how long it would take.

And in that moment, sharp and certain, I feel it.

The shift.

The change in the air.

That all-too-familiar presence behind me.

Thane steps beside me. He presses a soft kiss against my cheek, lingering just long enough to make the meaning unmistakable before his hand settles at the small of my back, pulling me close to him.

It is not possessive. It is a declaration.

And this woman sees it. Her expression remains neutral for all of half a second before another polished smile slips back into place.

“Ardyn.” Thane’s voice remains perfectly smooth.

But I hear the edge beneath it.

“Thane,” she greets pleasantly, as though she hadn’t spent the last several minutes testing me. “I was just getting to know Amara.”

“I’m sure you were,” he replies flatly.

He moves, stepping closer until his presence settles fully at my back.

Around us, the ballroom still glitters with golden light and swirling dancers. Couples move across the dance floor, their silks and jewels catching the light, laughter and murmured conversations weaving through the air like music itself.

And yet, everything feels colder now. Because Ardyn is watching Thane.

She smiles.

“It’s good to see you again, Thane.”

Her voice carries the effortless elegance of someone raised in court politics. She tilts her glass towards Thane.