Page 129 of Rite of Unity

I let my hands fall to my sides, shaking out my fingers.Inhale.Exhale.

I straightened and stepped forward, into my enemy’s house.

Chapter 31

Maryn

Insidewasevenmorebeautiful than the outside.A room lined entirely in glass on one side was transformed into a moonlit ball.

What must it be like to grow up with the whole lake outside your window and still want more?

I spun in a slow circle, grudgingly grateful to Vera for the too-tight dress’s fortification above the knee.I had never worn something that hugged the curve of my hips the way it did, and I felt exposed even with fabric that reached the floor.

A whisper of air against the bare skin on my back had me spinning, and I looked into black eyes, devouring every inch of me.

Calden cleared his throat, stepping back.“Would you dance with me?”

My hand was already lifting before I could stop it.

I wrapped my arms over my chest as I coughed out a reply.“I don’t th—”

“Maryn is needed with the other matches.”Elias’s cold voice at my back sent a chill down my spine.

Calden’s gaze never left mine.“Maryn?”

His hand remained outstretched, and I glanced down, chest tightening as I backed up.

Elias’s fingers wrapped around my waist, tugging me toward him until his heat scalded my back.

Calden’s brows flattened into black slashes, and he finally looked past me.“I didn’t realize your matches required permission to dance.”

A low rumble started at my back.

“Why don’t you tell Maryn why you cut her tape short in Trial Four?”

I searched Calden’s face, schooling my expression, but his gaze was intent on Elias now.

“Suppression of information is how you keep people in line.”His eyes narrowed.“No one should know that better than the president’s son.”

Goosebumps raced along my arms as Calden’s attention returned to me.The air in the room was suddenly stifling, the press of these two men too close.Whatever this was, it wasn’t about me anymore.

I steadied myself.

“Elias.”I spun around.“Dance with me?”

His jaw was tight, his eyes daggers that would have skewered anyone other than Calden.

I shuddered, and he glanced down, his face morphing into something softer.“Of course.”

I slid my hand into his and moved past him, tugging him to the center of the dance floor.

His other hand found my waist, but he looked away, out the window, and as the music began, he moved stiffly.My grip tightened around his fingers as we spun, my thighs rubbing together beneath the tight fabric.

“I’m sorry.”

Elias’s gaze snapped to me, and the hard expression was back.I shrank from it, hating the weight of his anger directed at me.

“You should be.You failed.”