He slid into the empty seat beside Annie like he belonged there, draping one strong arm over both her and Ravina's shoulders in a single smooth motion. His smile was broad and venomous. "Look at this table," he said, his voice a rich, false charm. "The three most beautiful people in the room, and me."
Annie stiffened.
His touch was subtle, calculated. Meant to look casual, but it lingered a second too long, pressed a fraction too close.
Ravina did not move.
Navir offered a faint chuckle, lifting his glass. "You are late," he said smoothly. "We were just discussing how you always manage to make an entrance."
Aerion grinned wider. "I would not miss it. Not every day I get to sit with a legend."
Annie's jaw tightened. Her spine straightened.
"Still," Aerion went on, brushing a bit of her hair off her shoulder with infuriating gentleness, "you are holding up well. You always were resilient. That is one of the reasons I admire you."
Ravina laughed gently, taking another sip from her crystalline cup. "She is not just resilient," she said. "She is sharp. Smart. Always on her feet." Her eyes locked with Annie's for a second, unreadable.
Navir leaned in slightly. "Honestly, I did not expect you to come tonight. Not after last time."
Annie narrowed her gaze. "You mean the horse?"
Navir laughed, genuinely this time. "That horse was a work of chaotic genius. Aerion was furious."
"I was not furious," Aerion said smoothly, swirling his drink. "I was impressed. It takes guts to mock a god of war to his face."
"You were not laughing at the time," Annie said coldly.
Aerion grinned. "Because I did not want to ruin the moment."
"You are ruining this one," she muttered.
Navir raised a hand in mock surrender. "Easy, easy. We are all friends tonight. Just drinks and dancing and dangerous charm, right?"
Ravina gave a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Exactly. No need to be so tense, Anastasia. We are here to enjoy the evening. Let go, just a little."
Her tone was warm, almost coaxing. Too gentle.
Too intentional.
Then she picked up a new glass from the tray and slid it across the table, the liquid inside a brilliant green gold, shimmering like sunlight through leaves. "Try this one. A new blend I made just for the party. Sweet, with a little forest honey and citrus. You will love it."
Annie hesitated for only a second before picking it up. She was being watched, Aerion too close, Ravina expectant, Navir casually sipping his own drink, his eyes a little too bright.
One sip.
Two.
It tasted strange… but not bad.
Warm.
Too warm.
Aerion's arm tightened almost imperceptibly.
Navir leaned back, voice casual. "You have really changed, you know. There is a softness to you now. A glow."
"She is adapting," Ravina said, almost admiringly. "Malvor's realm must be good for her."
"Or he is," Aerion said softly, close to her ear.
Ravina reached across the table, brushing Annie's hand with hers as if adjusting a ring. Her skin tingled where Ravina touched her. Tingled… then cooled. Then—
Everything felt heavy.
Like velvet pressing down on her mind.
The music blurred, the lights shimmered just a little too bright. Her head tilted slightly as her body tried to compensate, but her pulse had already slowed.
Ravina smiled. "See? Told you it was good."
Aerion laughed softly and raised his glass in toast. "To new memories."
Annie blinked, the edges of the room already beginning to bend, sound warping, vision blooming with too much color.
Something was wrong.
She felt it first in her fingers. Numbness creeping in, her grip weakening on the stem of her glass. Then her heartbeat, slower than it should be. And beneath it all, like a distant echo underwater, a spark of fear.
Malvor.
She reached for him through the bond, the strange, invisible thread between them that had become so constant, so present. Her emotions surged forward like a flare: panic, confusion, help. She clung to that need, willed it to find him.
Nothing.
No answer.
No warmth.
No teasing tug in her chest.
The bond was still there… but muted. Faint. Like a signal buried beneath static.
She swallowed hard, heart thudding sluggishly in her chest. Her eyes darted around the crowd, searching desperately, where was he? Her gaze swept the edges of the room, past the glowing dance floor, the iridescent fountains, the laughing guests.
He was not there.
Malvor, please.
Her mind screamed it even if her lips did not move. Her head turned toward Navir, hoping, something, but he would not even meet her eyes now. He was talking to Ravina like none of this was happening.
Ravina leaned closer, brushing Annie's hair back with the same soft touch she had used moments ago to pass the drink. "You should have stayed home, love," she said sweetly.
Annie's breath hitched.
Aerion smiled beside her, that same terrible calm. "Do not worry. He will not find you in time."
She tried to stand.
Her legs did not listen.
The velvet weight had sunk into her bones.
She managed a gasp, a small, shallow breath, but the world had already begun to tilt.
And still, nothing from Malvor.
No jokes.
No warmth.
No fury.
Just silence.
Just the three of them.
And her.
Alone.