Page 62 of The Revenge

Before I can ask what he’s talking about, Syn loops his arm through mine and starts to lead me to the main room.

The main feature of Milstein Hall is the life-size replica of the blue whale that hangs from the ceiling. I don’t remember going in this room the last time I was here, and if I did, I certainly didn’t appreciate the size of the creature hanging in it.

At the far end of the room, beneath the tail, there’s an ensemble of musicians playing an instrumental version of Wham’s Last Christmas on a large stage. Because food isn’t being served tonight, the room isn’t dominated by large tables. Instead, there are strategically placed small, taller tables, marking out the dancefloor where several couples are already dancing.

Each corner has a large Christmas tree that reaches up to the gallery above, and each column has lengths and lengths of festive garland wrapped around it, but no effort has been spared on the festive floral arrangements dotting the room. Although it’s lit with soft blue lighting, the effect feels more wintery than underwater.

The amount of money spent on this event has me wondering how much money they’re hoping to raise tonight.

A waitress carrying a tray of champagne pauses in front of us, and Syn lets go of me so he can take two glasses. He offers one of the flutes to me.

“Your parents are over there,” I tell him as I take the glass. “Do we need to go and say hello?”

Syn arches an eyebrow. “Do you want to?”

Of course I don’t.

“Wouldn’t it be weird if we didn’t? I do have this ring on my finger, after all.”

“It’s probably weirder that we’re here,” Gemini says as he and Royal join us. “I don’t remember the last one I went to.”

“Don’t your parents host this?” I ask.

Gemini nods and points towards the stage. Just in front of it, there’s a small crowd of couples standing in a semi-circle around a woman wearing a white gown. She has pale skin and auburn hair, and even though she’s smiling at the person who’s talking to her, there’s no hiding her stern features. “That’s Elena; the woman of the hour. Eric is probably at the bar, bragging to the other menfolk that this is going to cost him a fortune.”

“Where’s Virgo?” Royal asks before glancing at me. “That’s his sister.”

Almost at once, Gemini’s expression darkens. “Virgo, who didn’t want to come anyway, was told to stay at home tonight.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask.

“Elena bought her a dress for tonight that was too small to start with, then decided that Virgo was too fat to be seen in public.”

My mouth falls open because there’s no way that can possibly be true. “She didn’t actually say that to her, did she?”

Gemini raises his glass to his lips and then proceeds to drink it all in one go. Once finished, he sets it down on the tray of a passing server before turning back to me. “Now, we dance.”

At the last minute, I hand my champagne flute to Syn and allow Gemini to lead me onto the dancefloor. “Is this a good idea?”

“I have to give Royal a chance to win his money back.” Gemini places a hand on my hip as he takes my other hand in his.

In time with the slow beat of the music, we start to move around the dancefloor. Like a lot of girls my age brought up in wealthy families, I had dance lessons when I was younger, though they stopped long before I went to middle school. Butwhile we weren’t doing the waltz, Gemini was leading in a way that made me question how he knew how to move without stepping on my toes.

“What’s the bet?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“How long it takes for our Synnie to cut in. Royal’s convinced that Syn doesn’t like you like that to care.”

I snort. “You might as well hand Royal that money now.”

A grin spreads over Gemini’s lips. “That’s what he said when I bet him that Syn’d act like the rock on your finger is real.”

Frowning, I glance down at my hand that’s resting on Gemini’s waist. From this angle, I can’t see the ring, but I can picture the diamond in my mind. “That’s not a fake diamond. He even said as much.”

“I’m not talking about the ring.”

Whatever that means. “I thought I was supposed to stay out of the way and not draw any attention to myself.”

“Even if your hair wasn’t blue, there’s no way you couldn’t draw any attention,” Gemini tells me.

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