Page 65 of Compass Points
Rose couldn’t hide the confusion from her face. She glanced at Luc on the edge of the dancefloor, watching their every move.
“Not your beloved Suden Point,” he replied.
Her mind raced, but she couldn’t search for the meaning of his words as she felt his grip tighten again, trying to lock her in place. She felt his finger fumbling as if trying to line something up on his hand.
Instinct told her she had to get away from him. She couldn’t just run off the dance floor, though. They were playing a dangerous game of showmanship, and if she wanted to claim the Norden Point seat, she couldn’t run away from him now.
She stepped out of his hold into a spin, giving herself distance. What kind of being could inhabit another’s body?
A god seemed to be the only answer.
What had Aiden done? She remembered even a glimpse of the grey eyes the day she met him. He had to have done something reckless as a child.
Shaking herself free of a confusing mix of sadness and regret, she focused on her anger. It was always easier for her to wield. It was too much of a coincidence that a godlike being was controlling Aiden. They had to be connected to the plague of mists. She needed to find out what he was and how to end him.
She felt the familiar warmth of Aurora’s dagger strapped to her thigh. She briefly wondered how connected Aiden and the being were. How responsible was he for his actions when the grey eyes were present? Was there any way for him to survive a separation? The weight of the dagger against her leg gave her comfort, though a last resort with so many unknowns.
“I think that’s about enough from you, Rose,” the grey-eyed Aiden said as she spun back towards him. The hand that was around her waist was outstretched, ready to catch her. Rose caught a glimpse of a large, triangle-shaped ring on his finger with an onyx rock center. It looked like a dark mountain. The point of the triangle facing toward her had a needle point that stretched above the tip of his finger. It hadn’t been there before. She didn’t know what it held, but she was sure she’d regret it if she let him catch her with it. She tried to slow down her return to his hold, but short of ending the dance, she didn’t know how to avoid it.
In her moment of indecision, Luc stepped in between her and Aiden, catching her waist. His eyes flashed red as he said, “I can take it from here,” not bothering to turn to face Aiden.
“Wha…” Aiden hissed in quiet outrage at the interruption.
Worse, Rose saw that he hadn’t slowed the movement of the triangle’s point. Instead of connecting with her waist, it had punctured Luc’s as he forced himself between Rose and Aiden.
She looked down as Aiden pulled the point out of Luc’s side and flicked the needle back into the large ring.
“You,” Aiden whispered in outrage.
Luc shook his head as if to shake off his red-rimmed irises. He was almost successful until he stepped forward to move Rose away from Aiden, and his leg wasn’t entirely steady.
“Poison?” Luc hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t want to draw more attention to their partner swap than necessary. “I didn’t think you could be that stupid.”
But Aiden was already walking away, removing himself from whatever scene may ensue. Rose looked at Luc, attempting to school the emotion on her face. She couldn’t believe he’d stepped in. She couldn’t believe he’d taken whatever Aiden had been trying to stab her with.
“Luc, what was it?”
“We need to get somewhere private. I can feel it moving quickly.”
Rose didn’t need to be told twice. She knew this house and knew exactly where to take him. She led him off the dance floor and down one of the many hallways. A hallway she was sure would be unused during the solstice celebration as it held only a classroom. She got him through the door before his legs gave out.
She couldn’t hide her relief when a black cat slinked in through the door before she closed it.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Rose closed the door behind Arie’s cat form as she turned to Luc. He’d sprawled across the top of a desk in the front of the room.
“Why did you step in!” She couldn’t decide if anger or fear for him would be the winning emotion.
“You know why, Rose,” he replied in a voice much more exhausted than his usual confident manner.
“Not the time for this, Rose. What happened to him? I didn’t see it all.”
“Aiden—well, not Aiden—stabbed him with the tip of his big triangle ring.”
Arie’s tail flicked wildly as Rose spoke.
“We have to move fast if we’re going to save him.”
