Chapter Four : Dance with the Devil
593 Words
If there was one thing I hated more than losing, it was pretending.
And tonight, I had to pretend.
I adjusted the silver clasp of my dress as Tala whispered frantically behind me.
“You need to breathe,” she said for the second time that week.
“I’m breathing,” I lied, watching the grand hall fill with the worst kind of people—billionaires in tailored suits, heiresses dripping in old money and older grudges, and of course, the Reyes family.
They’d just arrived.
Killian Reyes at the center of it all, looking like he owned the entire building.
He probably did.
“You look like you’re planning his murder,” Tala said, sipping champagne.
“Planning is a strong word.”
She snorted. “Just don’t stab him at his own family’s gala. Bad manners.”
I tuned her out as my mother approached, her smile tight.
“Cassian, remember why we’re here,” she murmured.
“To make the Vale name shine,” I replied automatically.
“To remind the Reyeses who they’re dealing with,” she corrected, eyes flicking toward Killian and his father.
I clenched my jaw.
Killian’s father caught my gaze from across the room. His nod was slight, but calculating. The kind of man who played chess with people, not pieces.
And Killian—
Killian was already watching me.
Of course.
⸻
I was halfway through surviving polite conversation with an oil tycoon when I felt it.
A presence at my back.
“Miss Vale,” Killian said smoothly.
I turned, schooling my expression into something neutral.
“Mr. Reyes,” I returned.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, holding out his hand.
“For good reason.”
“Dance with me.”
I blinked. “No.”
“Everyone’s watching,” he said, voice low. “Including our parents. Shall we give them something to talk about?”
I hated him.
But I hated losing more.
With a brittle smile, I set my champagne down and placed my hand in his.
The moment our palms touched, something sharp and electric ran up my spine.
His hand was warm. Firm. Confident.
And when he pulled me onto the dance floor, I realized I wasn’t breathing again.
⸻
“Relax,” he murmured.
“I am relaxed,” I hissed.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
His hand slid to the small of my back. Too low. Too familiar.
“You’re enjoying this,” I accused.
He smiled. “Immensely.”
We spun past the glittering crowd.
Our parents watching.
The heirs to two rival empires pretending to be civilized.
“I know what you’re doing,” I said.
“Do you?”
“You’re playing a game.”
His fingers tightened ever so slightly.
“So are you.”
I lifted my chin. “I don’t lose.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth for half a second too long.
“Neither do I.”
⸻
The music slowed.
And Killian Reyes, enemy of my family, boy who ruined my peace, leaned in.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
I froze.
Because for just a second… I almost believed him.
But Killian Reyes didn’t miss people.
He hunted them.
⸻
Later, when the dance was over and I was alone on the balcony, I found another envelope.
Same black wax seal.
Inside, a single line:
It’s already begun.
I stared out at the night, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
Something was happening.
And I was right in the middle of it.
- Writer
