It was euphoric to see her eyes dazzling up at him. It made every stupid mistake he made worth it; all those mistakes are what led him to her. To a friendship he would treasure forever, a friendship he’d hope to be more, but if she wouldn’t have him that way, he’d just be happy being her friend.

He remembered his promise to Sam, who was worried about Elnora’s parents, and searched for him. It was painful to take his eyes away from Bethan, but the thought of something happening to Sam ate away at his conscious.

Eventually, Sam and Elnora met again, with drinks in their hand. He wondered if they had gotten a chance to dance yet. Bethan’s hold on his neck tightened. He turned his head slightly to see Canden Whittaker staring at her with a strange look. He watched Canden’s blue eyes flick to him. The man looked away immediately and walked to where Kai was standing.

He saw two familiar figures approaching out of the corner of his eye; Elnora pulled Bethan from him. And he longed for her arms around him again.

‘The Whittakers are doing work with my family. That’s why he was invited. His family want to introduce him back into society as if nothing happened. Can you believe that?’ Elnora told them. Bethan shook her head.

He knew the Rennigans were a prominent family in Witch Society. He knew that they were the closest line to the Original Family. They were a family who stood the test of time.

He worried about the power that they would have if Julius had won the elections and wondered if anyone from their family were, in fact, High Councillor at some point.

The four of them split apart on the dance floor again. Bethan slipped her hands back around his neck. Looking in those big brown eyes, he wondered if Bethan had somehow got her powers back and enchanted him. When he spun her around again, he silently wished they never found the grimoire. That way, he never had to leave.

‘Do you remember the night of the exhibit when the dancing started?’ she asked him.

He nodded.

‘I wished I danced with you. I wanted you to ask me,’ she whispered.

‘I was too drunk. I would have probably said something stupid. I wanted to . . . ’

‘I would take your nonsense over dancing with Tharin.’ She laughed and placed her head on his shoulder.

‘You told me once that you did everything you could to self-sabotage your claim to the throne.’ He clenched his jaw in anticipation for what she was about to say. ‘Did you used to get drunk as a way to sabotage?’

He seethed, prying himself from her.