Following Alec’s lead, I pull my mask up to my face and fasten it behind my head. “Ready.”
Alec admires me in full, sweeping the length of my body with his eyes. His smile blooms in appreciation, and I have to fight the urge to blush. Then he takes my hand and leads me through the entrance of the Arctic Winter Masquerade Ball.
I exhale, overwhelmed by the fairytale setting that resembles an iced-over Florida. It’s both masterful and hilarious. A frosted platform spreads across the majority of the room, tracing the edge of the dance floor like an arctic ice shelf. Circular tables dressed in white decor dot the entire right side of the room, each adorned with what resembles a block of ice and white floating tea candles. The winter wonderland setting seems to rest upon an ever-moving glacier. Even the stage is decorated to look like the tip of an iceberg. On the dance floor below the stage, blue lights outline the ice formations as if they are floating in a vast sea.
The excitement in the room is infectious, and the music attracts dancers to the main floor early in the night while others buzz freely around the room.
“Well,” Trisha squeals. “Do you love it?”
In awe, I sweep the room with my gaze again. “I more than love it. This is incredible.” My eyes travel up to the ceiling, where white nets draped at different heights cradle glowing balls of light. “How do you come up with ideas like this?”
She shrugs. “That do-it-yourself website always has great ideas, then I improvise from there.”
My eyes widen in shock. “You’re telling me you did all of this without using your magic?” Trisha has a weakness for using her magic at inappropriate times, so I’m finding this hard to believe.
She giggles her infectious giggle. “Of course I used magic, silly. I just used that website for some ideas. Then I elaborated. We only had two days to create the set. Without magic, it would have been impossible.”
“We’re going to take photos,” Arabella calls to us. “Get your guy, and let’s go.”
I tug Alec along, happy to move through the crowd and check out more of the scenery. Arabella leads us to where Brett holds our spot in line. I admire the photography backdrop. A sheet of cracked sparkling ice covers the back wall, along with strings of blue lights that drip down to the floor.
When it’s our turn to get our photos taken, my friends and I pile in front of the backdrop. Alec’s arm snakes around my waist as he nuzzles my cheek, and a grin spreads across my face just in time for the photographer to begin snapping away.
A flicker of darkness from the rafters causes my eyes to drift in that direction, but I’m blinded by the overhead lights. I tear my eyes away and focus on the photographer, who directs us through a series of group and couple photos.
When we’re all walking out to the dance floor, I’m sure my eyes are playing tricks on me again, catching on another strange, shadowy movement near the dance floor. This time, the figure moves quickly—darting through the crowd then bending down and standing up as if he’s placing something on the floor. The crowd seems to part without paying it much attention, so I decide it must be someone working the event.
Oblivious to the distraction, Alec pulls me deeper into the crowd and begins to move to the music. I try to keep up with him, but he’s a much better dancer than I am. Apparently, my powers don’t afford me the skills of a professional dancer, which I find incredibly disappointing. Still, it’s hard not to have fun when the pounding music fills my veins and the colorful lights dance all around us.
I’m finally starting to loosen up when I spot another movement. This time, I catch sight of the tall, slender shadowy figure before I can second-guess myself. He’s moving slowly and deliberately behind the backcloth of the stage like he’s searching for something, causing me to freeze for a moment. Adrenaline whooshes through my blood, putting my entire body on high alert.
I’m not seeing things. My senses don’t scream at me unless there’s danger lurking nearby. And here we are, on the day of the winter solstice—an Enchanter’s event. It would make complete sense for Erebus to show up again today. It’s not like any of us believed he would be gone forever.
Alec leans into me, worry evident on his face. “Are you okay?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to calm my racing heart. I shake my head, unable to speak or move. I need to get ahold of myself. I swipe my hand over the spot where my necklace usually rests. Then I remember again that I left it at home in my vanity drawer, for completely superficial reasons—I didn’t want the green emerald to clash with my outfit.
Flashbacks from my last encounter with Erebus replay in my mind like a flip book. The call I got on the radio that sent me toward the maze in a panic. The dread that filled me once I realized I had just entered a trap. The moment I saw Johnny’s beaten body tied to that tree. The deep hurt that overcame me when Alec revealed himself and stood beside Ava. The serpent slithering from Iris’s dead body before delivering one final message to me.
The images of that awful night have haunted me all this time, but it’s the feeling that seeped into my gut the moment I knew I was trapped in that maze that returns like a burst of light. I’m tuning into a threat now just as I did then.
With every ounce of certainty, I know something about tonight is off. I shiver with fear, questioning if Erebus is here to hurt more of my friends.
“Kat, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?” Alec looks around then turns my head gently to face him, meeting my eyes as the music pulses around us.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It could be nothing. I left my necklace at home so my senses are going crazy. And I keep seeing someone sneaking around here. He just went behind the stage and—” I swallow. “I just feel like something is wrong.”
His mouth twists as if he’s trying to understand what my words really mean, then his face relaxes. “Everything will be fine. Stay here, okay? I’ll be back.”
“I can come with you.”
“Stay here,” he says again, this time more forcefully. I can’t read his expression, but he seems to be worried too.
“Okay,” I agree, not wanting to waste any time arguing.
Alec ducks through the crowd until he finds Kaleb. I have yet to figure out their friendship. It seems they bonded over magic and their love for sports and music. Still, I find it interesting that Kaleb is the first person Alec goes to in a crisis. I watch them closely. Kaleb’s eyebrows shoot up, and he nods energetically before following Alec through the crowd and toward the back entrance of the stage.
Suddenly, the energy in the room changes. The music transitions into a moderate guitar beat, bodies adjust, and voices seem to quiet as they wait for the beat to pick up.
It’s as if I’m watching the scene unfold in slow motion. First, a few faces near me express bewilderment when their eyes catch something above them. Then gasps travel around the room. Like a domino effect, my peers recognize something is happening and begin to shuffle around.
He’s here.
Fingers point to the ceiling, and soon everyone is standing still, their faces illuminated by the blue and white lights around the room. Then the first shriek ignites.
Forcing my eyes up, I see what’s causing the commotion. Now it’s my turn to gasp.