The Heir of Moon-Fire

Chapter 32

Elentiya's POV

"I still don't know why I'm here," Mal said. He had his arms crossed as he frowned at me, or maybe he was frowning at the party, I couldn't be sure. 

"Well, I think you're going to have an amazing night," I replied as I dragged him through the crowd of people, searching for a familiar face. The ballroom was lit solely from glowing strands of golden fire above us, courtesy of our mom.

He rolled his eyes. "Suuuure..." came his sarcastic reply.

"Finally!" I said as I dragged him towards Luna. "Luna!" I shouted over the music, dodging people who were dancing to the music. Luna turned around in her dress that looked like liquid starlight. Her eyes lit up as she spotted us.

"Oh, thank the Cauldron!" she exclaimed. "I was worried that she wouldn't be able to convince you to come!"

"Okay, does everyone know something that I don't?" Mal demanded. He gave us an unimpressed look when we just continued to chatter about trivial things.

"Where is she?" I hissed at Luna, covering it with a laugh when I noticed that Mal had become distracted by the party. 

She smiled. "My brother, Ladon, said that he wants to meet you. I may have talked you up a little bit to him..." I burst out laughing at her comment.

"I look forward to meeting him as well..." I told her with a grin. 

Mal clearly showed his impatience as we dragged him over to a table that was serving wine. I attempted to hand him a drink which he merely scowled at before pushing it away.

"Lighten up a little, Mal," I said as I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow.

He sent a glare my way as I shoved the glass of wine back into his hands. He swiftly downed the entire drink. "There. Now can I go?" he demanded.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Look, you trust me, right?" He didn't hesitate to nod. "Than trust me when I say that you'll regret leaving, okay?" His jaw clenched slightly as he continued to frown.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I'll stay."

"Yay! Now, let's drink some more, and then go dance!" I told him, shoving another drink into his hands before downing a glass of my own. He exhaled deeply before drinking the wine.

"I'm going to go find Sam," Luna said, winking at me as she did so. She gave me a pointed look towards the dance floor. "Ladon might be with him." A smirk grew on my face before I grabbed Mal's hand.

"Let's dance!" I told him, making him stumble slightly at the sudden movement as I pulled him onto the dance floor. 

His eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't danced in well over a century, Elentiya," he replied.

I waved him off. "Ohhh... who cares! C'mon!" I pleaded with him. He rubbed his head.

"Okay, fine... One dance!" 

"Make it two!" I declared before pulling him into the fast-paced dance. My smirk grew as I briefly caught Emily's eye. 

At first, he moved awkwardly, tripping over his own feet, and even stepping on mine a couple of times. However, he quickly remembered the steps to this particular dance, finally falling back into the rhythm. 

I felt myself get carried away by the dance as the climax began. The rising notes and chords blooming from the pianoforte until they struck a long, hard, perfect octave. Mal automatically let go of my hand, twirling me away from him, just as Emily and I switched places.