My smile is more of a grimace, but it’ll do for now. I offer him my very worst curtsy. “Thank you, kind sir. I shall—hic—bear that in mind.”

I don’t wait for him to say anything else, or worse, to try to touch me again. I make my retreat, as hastily as propriety will allow. Even so, I can feel his gaze burning a hole in my back as I go.

CHAPTER 30

Ana

I have to tell Kiki what’s happened. Her family is a target. Alejandro’s death—his murder—was part of something larger than we could have anticipated. It wasn’t just about whatever damning knowledge he must have come across. It wasn’t about Alejandro alone. Her family—the Sonza fortune—is a target. Kiki is a target. I don’t know how exactly, but the fact that Cristobal has his eyes on her family’s source of income makes worry clog my throat. He seems like a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

And yet, all these dire warnings sputter out when I reach the ballroom.

In the center of the ballroom dance a swan and a lion. Feathers and fur, parting and colliding with the grace of the animals to which their costumes harken.

Sebastian dancing with Kiki. My Kiki.

Something toxic and thick sludges through my gut.

Once, I stood by and watched her dance with a man she does not love. A man she can never love. And I let it happen.

I will not let it happen this time.

Once was enough.

There are things I have to tell her. Maps and deeds and shipping routes. But all of that can wait. Right now, I have something to prove.

I make my way through the crowd of swirling silks and fluttering feathers. Perhaps it is the determination in my stride or the murderous look I can only assume is on my face, but people get out of my way.

I like that. I like it very, very much.

People part before me like the sea before Moses, but it is not God’s power propelling them to the side. It is mine.

When I reach the edge of the dance floor, I pause.

Now or never, Ana.

The dance brings Kiki closer to me, close enough for her to meet my eyes and frown, a silent question written in the downturn of her lips.

I smile, sharp and half-feral.

A dark, elegant eyebrow lifts. Partly question. Partly challenge.

Oh, little does she know.

When Sebastian’s lead brings her within my orbit, I clear my throat. Loudly. Obnoxiously.

He turns to me, confusion clear even through the mask. “Ana?”

I step into their path, stilling their twirling progression.

“May I cut in?”