“Do not dance with him anymore,” Tove said, sounding exasperated. “I beg of you. Stay as far away from him as you can.”

“With pleasure,” I said and gave him an odd look. “Why?”

“That man is insufferable.” He grimaced and glanced back at the Chancelor, who was already shoving another piece of wedding cake in his mouth. “He has the most perverse, vile thoughts I’ve ever heard. And he gets so much louder when he’s close to you. The disgusting things he would do to you…” Tove actualy shivered at that.

“What?” I asked. “How do you know? I thought you couldn’t read thoughts?”

“I can’t,” Tove said. “I can only hear when people are projecting, and he projects when he’s excited apparently. What makes it worse is that I spent al day moving things so my abilities would be weak. I can barely hear anything. But I hear him loud and clear.”

“He’s that bad?” I asked, feeling grossed out that I had let the Chancelor touch me.

“He’s horrible,” Tove nodded. “As soon as we get a chance, we have got to get him out of office. Out of Förening if possible. I don’t want him anywhere near our people.”

“Yes, definitely,” I agreed. “I’ve already been working on a plan to get rid of him.”

“Good,” Tove said, then smiled at me. “We’re already working together.”

A murmur ran through the crowd, and I looked around to see what al the fuss was about. Then I saw him, walking through the tables as if everybody wasn’t stopping to stare at him.

Loki had ventured down from where he’d been hiding in the servants’ quarters. Since granting him amnesty, he was no longer being guarded and was free to roam as he pleased, but I hadn’t exactly invited him to the wedding.

As Tove and I danced, I didn’t take my eyes off Loki. He walked around the dance floor toward the refreshments, but he kept watching me, reminding me of an animal stalking its prey. He got a glass of champagne from the table, and even when he drank it his eyes never left me.

Another Markis came over and cut in to dance with me, but I barely noticed when I switched partners from Tove. I tried to focus on the person I was dancing with. But there was something about the way Loki looked at me, and I couldn’t shake it.

The song had switched to something contemporary. That was probably the sheet music that Wila had slipped the orchestra. She’d insisted the whole thing would be far too dul if they only played classical.