Jax held the hand of Elira, and she was one heck of a stunner.
Black hair with red undertones that suited her pale skin perfectly. The contrast was striking, almost otherworldly in its beauty.
She wore a sleek black dress that hugged her figure elegantly, and black gloves that reached all the way to her elbows covered her hands.
When she smiled at him, Jax could see through it imdiately. Behind that pleasant expression lay sothing else entirely. Sothing fake. Sothing calculated. And Jax was excited to reveal it.
Excited to play with her.
The orchestra’s lody drifted through the air as they walked toward the dance floor. Violins humd softly, building anticipation for the evening’s entertainnt.
When Jax took a few steps forward holding her hand, countless stares followed them.
So faces wore expressions of shock. Others displayed that familiar noble disgust, as if watching a commoner touch sacred royalty.
A few won watched with glistening eyes, perhaps seeing them as a romantic couple, or perhaps simply admiring Jax himself.
Jax ignored all of it. His attention remained fixed on Elira as he smiled warmly at her.
"Before we get started, Princess, I should warn you."
Her mood was surprisingly jolly. Completely the reverse of her usual cold, unapproachable deanor. "Warn about what, Professor?"
"I’m an amateur when it cos to royal etiquette."
He positioned his hand on her waist. Perhaps a touch lower than what proper protocol demanded. His fingers rested just above the curve of her hip.
"That includes dancing."
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t pull away. "Then why accept my invitation? Well, I’m not complaining. It’s fine by my side, as long as you don’t make fall or embarrass here."
Jax laughed softly. The music grew louder around them as other couples began taking their positions on the floor.
"Well, I accepted the honor simply because you requested it. How could I have turned down such a beautiful lady?"
He closed the distance between them, bringing his lips near her ear to whisper over the echoing sounds of the hall. "And I do love dancing. It’s just that my style is different from what you nobles practice. My emotions guide my feet. I do whatever I feel like in the mont. And trust , it can go quite bizarre at tis."
As he finished speaking, his gaze drifted past her shoulder. There, standing near the edge of the crowd, was a familiar face.
The vampire boy from the hallway. The one who had been speaking with Elira earlier. His face was flushed red.
Not from embarrassnt. From pure, undiluted anger.
Jax simply smiled at him.
Elira followed his gaze briefly, then turned back with that pleasant mask still firmly in place. "Then I am looking forward to seeing the mood of my professor."
The music swelled dramatically. Other couples began their practiced movents around them. Perfect posture. Rehearsed steps. The chanical precision of aristocratic training on full display.
Every turn calculated. Every bow asured to the exact degree.
Jax moved differently.
His first step was too wide. His second ca too quick. He spun Elira in a direction that made absolutely no sense with the lody playing overhead.
Multiple murmurs rippled through the watching crowd. Won whispered behind their ornate fans, exchanging scandalized glances.
But Jax didn’t stop.
He pulled her close against his chest. Pushed her back. Twisted in ways that defied every rule of ballroom dancing that had ever been written.
His movents were wild, unpredictable, completely out of sync with the orchestra’s careful rhythm.
And yet, sothing about it worked.
His confidence carried each chaotic step forward. His smile never wavered for even a mont.
He moved like a man who had invented his own style of dance and was daring the entire world to criticize it.
The crowd’s shocked gasps slowly transford into sothing else. Amusent crept into their expressions. Entertainnt replaced scandal. So faces even showed reluctant admiration.
’What in the world is he doing?’ their expressions seed to say. ’But damn, it actually looks fun.’
Elira, anwhile, was struggling desperately.
Her trained feet tried to follow his lead. Tried to predict his next movent. But she failed every single ti because he changed each move into sothing completely different at the last second.
She stumbled once. Recovered with grace born of years of training. Stumbled again. Barely caught herself before disaster struck.
Then it happened.
Her heel caught on the hem of her dress.
Ti seed to slow as her balance vanished completely. Her body tilted backward. Her eyes widened with genuine panic, all pretense stripped away in that mont of fear.
’No. Not here. Not in front of everyone.’
But Jax moved faster than her fall.
His arm snaked around her back and caught her mid-descent. His other hand found hers and gripped tight, anchoring her against gravity’s pull.
Instead of a humiliating collapse that would have haunted her reputation for years, her descent beca a graceful dip.
Her back arched beautifully over his supporting arm. Her dark hair swept the polished floor in an elegant arc. Their faces hovered inches apart.
The entire crowd held its breath.
Jax smiled down at her. "See? Told you I like it rough."
He pulled her back up slowly. Deliberately. Giving everyone a perfect view of his heroic save. The gasps around them transford into scattered applause.
Then he resud dancing. Slower now. Actually following the rhythm properly for the first ti since they had begun.
The other couples who had been executing their flawless, textbook routines suddenly felt inadequate.
Their technical perfection seed boring compared to the raw entertainnt they had just witnessed.
Several of them quietly retreated from the floor, unwilling to compete with whatever madness Jax had introduced.
As the music gentled into its final movent, Jax leaned closer to Elira.
"Are you okay?"
She took a mont to catch her breath, her composure gradually returning piece by piece. "You were really good, Professor." Genuine surprise colored her voice. "So what mood was that which made you so cheerful?"
"Make a guess."
She studied his face carefully. "You looked quite happy. As if you got what you desired. As if you accomplished sothing significant."
"Absolutely correct."
Curiosity flickered in her red eyes. "And what might that be?"
Jax’s smile widened. "Well, a mont before our dance, I was roaming around the hall. That’s when I found soone interesting. So I eavesdropped on them. And you know what? The puzzle I had been curious about solved itself the mont I heard their conversation. The mont I connected the dots."
She continued following his rhythm, her expression neutral. "I’m not following, Professor."
"That was such a great sight," Jax continued, his voice taking on a teasing quality. "A vampire boy complinting his lover on her appearance."
She stiffened in his arms. But Jax ignored the tension and continued both the dance and his words.
"He even said her dress brought out the color of her hair. Very romantic, I thought."
Elira’s panic was barely concealed now. She knew exactly whose conversation he was describing. Those words had been directed at her.
"He also invited her to join his company for the ball. Even requested a dance with her."
Silence stretched between them, filled only by the orchestra’s fading notes.
"But the poor boy was declined. The girl said quite politely that it was too early to reveal their relationship publicly."
Her pleasant smile finally cracked. Her voice ca out as a hiss. "So you were there. Eavesdropping."
"I was observing, dear. There’s a huge difference." Jax maintained his easy rhythm. "But let’s not disrupt my flow."
He made a frustrated face, pretending to think hard. "See, you made forget the conversations I put my soul into rembering."
Then he sighed dramatically. "But fine, let tell you what I gathered from my observations."
His eyes locked onto hers. "First, he was her fiancé. Second, the two looked like a lovely couple. Well, at least until the girl separated. Because I could see the anger that had built in that girl’s eyes afterward."
"That’s none of your business," Elira snapped, her mask fully shattered now. "So don’t brag about—"
"Of course it’s my matter, dear." Jax’s grin turned sharp. "And that’s exactly where I was coming to."
His voice dropped to sothing more serious. "You see, I was confused about what was happening. So I put my poor brain to work, connecting the dots from the very start."
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "The unapproachable princess suddenly joining the squad of an arrogant professor? Wasn’t that strange from the beginning?"
The music faded completely, but they remained in position, locked in their private confrontation.
"Then today, the conversation I witnessed. And finally, the smile you wore when you invited to dance. You led straight to where that poor guy could see us clearly."
His eyes glead with satisfaction. "I know quite a bit about him now. How he’s promised to be betrothed to you. His background. His position. But one thing beca absolutely clear to ."
He pulled her slightly closer. "You needed him out of the picture. And for that purpose, I was the scapegoat."
Elira’s jaw tightened but she said nothing.
"Well, that’s just a small piece of the picture," Jax continued. "There’s still the mystery of why you chose specifically. Why I used the word scapegoat. And of course, the bigger picture hiding behind all of this."
His smile turned predatory. "So tell , Princess. Should I reveal it myself? Or will you do the honors?"
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