Salt and Sorrow ✸ Grishaverse

chapter twenty-five.

chapter twenty-five / salt and sorrow
❛ i'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone ❜

Dance after dance, Eulalie wasn't sure if it was the whiskey or the twirling that had made her feel so dizzy. She felt more drunk than she usually did with the amount of shots she took with Kaz. And as for him, Eulalie had lost track of him halfway through the waltz. She felt bad for her partner and tried to apologize for her distractedness.

Even in an intoxicated state, she had to remain focused on outsmarting a relatively famous criminal mastermind. If she wasn't at least ten steps ahead of him at all times, Eulalie knew she was destined to fail this, and failure was not a viable option at the moment. Too much was on the line. She couldn't risk her entire family and their already tarnished reputation because of her shortcomings.

Eulalie's partner twirled her again, then pulled her in close.

"Looking for someone?" he whispered in her ear. His voice was deep and as rough as his hands. Her gloves kept catching on his dry skin. It made Eulalie's skin crawl.

"Yes," she replied, scanning the outskirts of the ballroom over his shoulder. "I'm trying to keep an eye on my younger sister. She's only ten and very new to this."

It was a half-truth. Pollyanna was new to balls. She wasn't even out yet, but the Mumming was for all ages. Pollyanna loved them, though they wore her out. Eulalie had promised her father that she would keep an eye on Pollyanna and the twins as they were the youngest.

The string quartet played the finishing notes as Eulalie, and the other dancers concluded their steps with polite curtseys and bows. It was a way of expressing their gratitude for the dance and to show mutual respect. But Eulalie was only thankful for the dance to be over. She briskly walked to the edge of the ballroom where she'd last seen Kaz lurking. Eulalie turned around, searching the ballroom for her sisters and mentally taking a head count.

Seven. Seven Winterrose girls.

Cecily and Saoirse were standing with Pollyanna, and Nadya and Adora had found the twins. A small portion of tonight's weight fell off Eulalie's shoulders. She was grateful for Cecily and Saoirse, but she didn't have time to tell them. She needed to find Kaz, or one of the Crows, at the very least. With a swish of her midnight skirt, Eulalie walked out of the ballroom and into the corridor that led into the garden, which was much bigger than the one at Hiraeth.