Author's Preface
The Opening Gala brought Night Moonveil’s students, faculty, and major bloodlines into one room. It was meant to impress.
Tessa was more interested in how many of them could ruin her life.
She stood near the edge of the crowd with Agatha Winterbloom, one of the few people who knew Theo Monroe was really Tessa. With Agatha, at least, she did not have to guard every word.
Theo was supposed to look like he had nothing more serious on his mind than surviving the evening. Tessa, meanwhile, knew which door she could reach fastest, where the nearest clock hung, where Sarah stood, and which four people she most wanted to avoid testing Mirrorroot against.
This was what relaxing looked like now.
Students gathered in familiar groups. Dragons drew attention without trying. Wolves stayed together, while witches, warlocks, vampires, and elves formed their own circles. The major bloodline heirs attracted attention wherever they went.
Theo Monroe should have been invisible among them.
Then Tessa found Zoran.
He stood near the center of the room, listening to an older student and looking annoyingly comfortable. He also looked unfairly handsome, so Tessa looked away.
Last night, Ashencroft had heard Theo’s voice change, followed him almost to Sarah’s residence, and asked questions she could not afford to answer. Tonight, she needed to give him nothing new.
Beside her, Agatha said, “Seven.”
Tessa glanced over. “Seven what?”
“Times the Dragon Heir has looked over here.”
“He’s probably wondering why you’re counting.”
Agatha took a sip. “Eight.”
Tessa refused to look.
That lasted a few seconds.
Zoran was still talking to someone else, but his gaze had returned to Theo.
Wonderful.
“Maybe he hates your dress,” Tessa muttered.
“My dress isn’t the one he’s watching.”
“I don’t care who he’s watching.”
Agatha’s smile became insufferable. Tessa turned away and found a man approaching them.
Sea-dark hair, an easy smile, and the relaxed confidence of someone who had probably never worried about being ignored.
Caspian Tideborne. The Siren Heir.
They had never spoken, but Tessa knew who he was. He stopped in front of them and looked directly at Theo.
“So,” he said, “you’re the interesting one.”
Tessa had a terrible feeling her evening had just become less boring.
“Interesting according to who?” Tessa asked.
Caspian glanced around the room. “Half the people here.”
Wonderful. Theo had already failed at being forgettable.
“I’ve barely been here.”
“And you’ve already managed to annoy Ashencroft. That’s efficient.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes. “Is that what passes for entertainment around here?”
“Tonight? Absolutely.”
Up close, Caspian was irritatingly attractive, though in a completely different way from Zoran. Nothing about him seemed restrained. He stood comfortably inside other people’s space, as if boundaries were only suggestions.
Then a faint pull brushed against Tessa’s mind, almost pleasant, urging her to relax and give Caspian her full attention.
Magic.
Tessa resisted automatically. Caspian’s smile slipped for half a second. The pull returned, slightly stronger. This time she pushed back on purpose, and Caspian went still.
“Are you doing something?”
His eyebrows rose. “Usually people don’t notice.”
“Maybe you’re losing your touch.”
Agatha nearly choked on her drink.
Caspian stared at Theo for a beat, then laughed. “All right. No cheating.”
The strange pull vanished completely. Tessa had expected him to push again, but instead he only looked more interested.
“You don’t react the way people usually do,” he said.
Tessa’s stomach tightened. “Maybe you’re just used to people being easier.”
“No. Something about you is different.”
“Different how?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Good luck with that.”
His gaze moved over Theo’s face with open amusement rather than Zoran’s careful scrutiny. Whatever Caspian had sensed beneath the disguise, he clearly did not understand it.
Good. Tessa intended to keep it that way.
“Do you make everyone work this hard for a conversation?”
“Only when people try strange magic on me before introducing themselves properly.”
“Caspian Tideborne.”
“I know.”
“That hurts. I had an entire introduction planned.”
“I saved us both.”
His grin widened. Being challenged only seemed to make him happier. This time when Caspian leaned closer, there was no magic behind it. He was simply flirting with Theo. And somehow that felt safer.
Tessa kept Theo’s shoulders loose and resisted the instinct to pull back. She was getting used to the strange work of being him—remembering how he stood, how low his voice should stay, how easily every reaction could become another detail someone remembered. Being flirted with only made the performance more complicated.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Caspian said.
“You’re giving me a lot to regret.”
He laughed again. When someone passed behind them, Caspian placed a light hand on Theo’s upper back and guided him half a step aside.
The touch barely registered. What caught Tessa’s attention was the stare from across the room. She looked past Caspian and found Zoran watching them.
For one brief moment, Zoran’s usual control slipped. Something sharp crossed his face when his gaze landed on Caspian’s hand, but it vanished immediately, replaced by a calm expression that looked a little too controlled.
Caspian followed Tessa’s gaze. His hand stayed exactly where it was, and a slow smile appeared.
Zoran did not come over right away. He finished his conversation, answered one last question, and only then started toward them. If he had rushed across the room, Tessa could have blamed his temper. But there was nothing impulsive about the way he approached.
Every step was controlled. Caspian seemed to notice too, because his amusement only grew while his hand remained lightly on Theo’s back.
Tessa considered moving away, but Zoran reached them first. His gaze went to Caspian’s hand, then to Theo’s face, and finally back to Caspian.
“Move your hand.”
Tessa stared at him.
Around them, the gala carried on, but the rhythm had shifted. A conversation nearby had gone quiet. Someone’s laughter cut off halfway.
Naturally, they were watching. The Dragon Heir had crossed a crowded room to stop the Siren Heir from touching an unknown warlock.
Caspian looked down at his hand, as though only now remembering where he had left it, then lifted his gaze to Zoran.
“Why?”
That was an excellent question. Theo was not Zoran’s friend, responsibility, or property. Tessa shifted beneath Caspian’s hand, not because she wanted it gone, but because she wanted Zoran to understand that the choice was hers.
“I’m capable of telling him to move.”
Zoran met her eyes. “I know.”
The answer came without hesitation, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in Tessa’s chest. Zoran knew she could make her own choices, yet he was still standing there as if Caspian’s hand bothered him anyway.
“No,” she said. “You just walked over here giving orders.”
Zoran’s jaw tightened, but he held her gaze. Beside her, Caspian looked between them with obvious amusement.
“You know, Ashencroft, if you want my attention, there are easier ways.”
“I don’t.”
“Good. I was worried.”
Tessa almost rolled her eyes. Then Caspian looked at Theo again, and his amusement shifted into something more knowing.
“Oh.”
Tessa’s stomach dropped. Zoran went completely still. Caspian glanced between them once more before asking, almost pleasantly,
“Do you want him?”
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