Page 20 of Rite of Unity

His formality only reminded me of how strictly he’d stuck to the rules the last time we met.But I couldn’t say no even if I wanted to.

I nodded, placing my hand in his.

His grip was loose, relaxed, as though he knew I was performing as much as he was.That thought sent a chill down my spine.

He led us into the dance, his steps quickening until I was dizzy.Sick.I squeezed his hand, and he missed the next beat, slowing dramatically.His piercing eyes searched my face, and the concern I saw there only made the nausea rise higher.

We were in the middle of the dance floor, far from its edges and the onlookers now.Gently, he tugged me closer.My sensitive stomach rioted.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed against my hair.

I leaned back, looking up to take him in.

He watched me.“I didn’t have a choice.”

Barren woman, I nearly spat, but I bit the inside of my cheek to stop it.The president’s son didn’t have a choice?I wanted to tell him to peddle his lies somewhere else.

I straightened, truly looking at him.He let me, and I saw it then: the dark circles under his eyes, his unwashed hair.Did it eat at him?Did he have a conscience?

“That may be, but the family whose daughters are still missing can’t do anything with an apology now.”

He nodded.“I found the girls.Micah, my aide, is helping me find them a place to live.”

I missed the next step and nearly tripped.“You… what?”

He pulled me closer, leading so I didn’t falter again.Lips pressed against the side of my head, he whispered, “When it's safe, I’ll bring their mother to them.”

My pulse drummed in my chest.

“Forgive me, Maryn.I couldn’t bear it if you didn’t.”

My tongue scraped the roof of my mouth, but I didn’t have a response for Elias Hale, the most powerful bachelor in the Covenant States, who was asking me to forgive him.

The song ended, but he didn’t release me.

A new song began, and we moved.

“Maryn, choose me.”

The blood in my veins ran cold.

Finally, he stepped back, putting space between us.I glanced around, remembering our audience, the inappropriateness of his lips against my head.

He stopped in the middle of the song, and dancers stopped around us, making space.

He reached into his pocket, and my heart beat so hard I couldn’t breathe.

A strand of blue silk dripped from his fingers.

He searched my face again.Waiting.

The room pressed closer, every eye on me.

I exhaled a shaky breath… and nodded.

The light I’d seen that first night returned to his eyes, as if I had the power to alter his whole world.

I steadied my arm, holding it out in front of me, and he dipped down on one knee.