Chapter 195 — Thought You’d Never Ask

Chapter 195: Chapter 195 — Thought You’d Never Ask

~ Raven ~

For one terrible second, the entire ballroom remained silent.

Then somebody snickered near the back.

Heat rushed straight into Raven’s face as several more students failed to contain themselves, and only then did she remember the amplification sigil still sitting in her hand.

Her gaze moved instinctively toward the Cardinal stations.

Dante was smirking.

That bastard.

Raven cleared her throat and adjusted her grip on the sigil as though she had not just cursed loudly enough for the whole academy to hear.

"Well. Apparently I was supposed to know I had to give a speech tonight."

Amusement moved through the room, and Raven glanced briefly toward the Court behind her.

"I’ve also been informed this is common knowledge."

The response warmed, but by then some of the tightness in Raven’s chest had begun to ease.

Fine.

If they wanted a speech, they would get one.

She looked back across the students.

"Isolde Marchmont should be standing here tonight. She isn’t, and I’m only filling her place until she’s back to complain about everything I inevitably get wrong."

The amusement softened.

Raven allowed the room to settle before continuing.

"I don’t know what these speeches normally sound like, so I’m not going to pretend I do. The last few weeks have been..." She paused, searching for something that did not sound ridiculous. "A lot."

A few murmurs moved through the students.

"The Hunt nearly killed some of us, and half the academy has spent every day since finding new reasons to argue, accuse each other of something or end up on somebody’s Linkslate."

A few students laughed, and Raven’s mouth curved before she could stop it.

"But we’re still here."

That part came easier.

"So whatever the Renewal Ball is supposed to mean, I think making it this far in one piece is enough of an achievement for tonight."

The ballroom had become quieter now, but not awkwardly so.

They were listening.

Raven looked across them once more before allowing herself one final smile.

"Enjoy yourselves. Drink something. Dance badly enough that nobody remembers whatever I do next, and if possible, let’s make it through one academy event without somebody trying to kill somebody else."

The cheering hit before Raven had fully lowered the sigil.

It spread across the ballroom faster than she expected until somebody shouted her name and several others joined in.

Raven stood there for a moment, taking in the sound.

A strange warmth settled beneath her ribs.

She did not examine it too closely.

Doing so seemed dangerous.

Instead, Raven smiled and waited for the noise to begin fading.

That had gone considerably better than expected.

Which, naturally, was when she remembered the final problem.

The opening dance.

Her gaze dropped toward the ceremonial slate.

OPENING PARTNER — PENDING

Raven stared at it before looking across the ballroom.

Dante was already watching her.

The faintly amused expression left over from her amplified curse had not completely disappeared.

Raven hesitated.

She could step down, approach him privately and handle the whole thing without several hundred people listening.

That would be sensible.

But Raven Rivers had no interest in sensible tonight.

"Dante Prymont."

His name carried cleanly through the amplification.

The remaining cheering died almost immediately.

Dante’s eyebrows rose.

Raven’s stomach dropped.

Right.

She was still holding the damned sigil.

Every student in Valerius could hear her.

Whatever courage had survived the speech suddenly abandoned her.

Dante waited from across the floor, looking far too interested in whatever disaster she was about to create.

Raven cleared her throat.

"Are you..."

She stopped when one of his eyebrows climbed slightly higher.

Heat began creeping into her face.

"...busy?"

For perhaps half a second nobody reacted.

Then the entire ballroom erupted.

"Ooooooh!"

Raven’s face went completely hot.

"Shut up," she muttered automatically, only to remember far too late what she was still holding.

The amplification carried that too.

The response became even louder.

Raven closed her eyes.

Perfect.

When she looked again, Dante was slowly glancing around himself as though genuinely checking whether he might have somewhere else to be.

His mouth curved.

Raven stared at him.

That fucking bastard.

"I meant the opening dance."

Now that everyone understood exactly what was happening, the reaction from the students only grew louder.

Raven refused to look toward Adelaide.

Or Rosalind.

Or Thalia.

Especially Thalia.

Dante offered absolutely no help.

He simply watched her.

And smiled.

Raven waited.

Nothing.

Her eyes narrowed.

Still nothing.

That scoundrel was actually making her finish this.

She handed the amplification sigil back before she could embarrass herself any further and stepped down with a curse beneath her breath.

The first few steps were manageable, but then everybody realized where she was going.

Heads began turning as Raven crossed the ceremonial floor, whispers moving through the students behind her while the distance between herself and Dante suddenly felt considerably longer than it had from the platform.

She refused to care.

Mostly.

Dante’s smile widened.

Every step closer seemed to make the bastard happier, until irritation finally replaced enough of her embarrassment for her to stop thinking quite so much about the audience.

By the time she reached his station, her cheeks were still warm, but she managed to stop directly in front of him without looking away.

Dante looked far too pleased with himself.

Raven folded her arms and eyed the smile on his face. "Not so smug now, are you?"

He said nothing.

His smile only deepened.

Raven narrowed her eyes.

Fine.

She had already called his name through an amplification sigil, asked whether he was busy in front of the entire academy and crossed half the ballroom while everyone watched.

There was not much dignity left to save.

Raven let her arms fall, drew a quiet breath and met his eyes.

"Will you dance with me, Dante?"

Something in his expression softened.

Not completely. Dante Prymont seemed physically incapable of losing the amusement entirely, but enough that Raven noticed the warmth beneath it.

Then he held out his hand.

"I thought you’d never ask."

Raven looked at it for half a second before placing her hand in his.

His fingers closed around hers.

The ballroom reacted again, but Raven barely noticed this time as Dante led her toward the centre of the ceremonial floor.

Rowan moved into position with his partner while Nikolai followed with his own, the other pairs spreading naturally into the places prepared for them.

Behind those positions, Blade’s station remained empty.

Raven’s gaze caught on it once more.

Cassian.

The worry returned sharply enough that her fingers tightened around Dante’s before she could stop herself.

Then Dante slowed, drawing her attention back to him.

The other pairs remained several paces away, waiting for the First Seat representative and her partner to begin before joining them.

Right.

She was opening.

Dante turned fully toward her and adjusted their joined hands before his other hand settled against her waist.

Raven went still.

Nikolai had held her exactly like this yesterday.

Somehow, this felt nothing like yesterday.

With Nikolai, following had eventually become easy enough that Raven stopped thinking about every movement. Standing this close to Dante while the entire academy watched, she seemed incapable of forgetting anything.

His hand against her waist, her fingers resting in his and the warmth of him standing much too close were suddenly impossible to ignore.

Worse, she had asked for this herself.

In front of everyone.

Raven lifted her eyes.

Dante was still smiling.

Her face warmed again despite herself.

Then the first notes of music moved through the ballroom.

And Dante stepped forward.