"I don't know the steps," she said. "In the human world we just grind on each other."
"Wow, never thought I'd be jealous of the human world," I said.
"You'll have to come to the next vampire party with me," she said.
"Sounds like a date." I led her through the motions, guiding her steps. After a few rounds, she had the dance down. She was graceful and a natural dancer.
In this moment, I knew my favor with Luka and the agreement with my father had been worth it. Raven was everything I ever wanted. And she didn't know that my favor meant I got her for the whole night. Luka even promised to stay out of her dreams.
Though, he did offer to join us if I wanted him there.
I frowned momentarily and shook the thought away. Sharing Raven was the one thing I didn't like. But if that demon played fair, I'd do it for her.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream broke through the ballroom and the music came to a halt.
Mumbled chatter filled the room as everyone looked around in confusion.
"What was that?" Raven asked.
"I don't know." The two of us moved with the motion of the crowd, toward whatever the issue was. My heart pounded harder and I kept Raven slightly behind me, ready to protect her if needed.
"Where is that time mage?" A female voice called.
"Raven, get out of here. Run," another female voice called. It sent chills through me as soon as I realized who it was.
"Makayla," Raven said, dropping my hand. She pushed through the crowd toward the voices and I ran after her, shoving people out the way to keep up with her.
"Raven, get back here," I hissed. What the hell was she doing? Whatever was going on up ahead was a trap.
I caught up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward me. "We have to get out of here."
"Run, Raven," Makayla said again. Her voice was shaky, and she sounded like she was fighting tears.
"I won't run," Raven said. "I will never run."
My jaw tensed as I stared at the determined expression on her face. "Then we go together. And you let me help."
She nodded.
As we moved forward, the crowd parted for us.
Finally we reached the edge of the crowd and I dug my fingers into Raven's upper arm to keep her from running.
In front of us, the time thief held Makayla in front of her. She had a blade on Makayla's throat. I could see a silver band on Makayla's wrist that looked like a magic lock. The kind they gave shifters to keep them from shifting. She was helpless to fight back, likely weakened from the magic lock.
"Makayla, hang on," Raven said.
"Well, well, how nice to see you again, Raven." The time thief flicked her eyes to me. "And you brought your pet dog."
I growled, my free hand clenched into a fist. I was ready to shift. I wanted to rip that woman's throat out but I had to be careful not to hurt Makayla.
"Before you complete that thought," the time thief said, "consider your friend here."
She pressed the tip of the blade into Makayla's throat, drawing blood.
Makayla gasped and then quickly locked her gaze on me. "Don't even think about it. That's what she wants. Don't let her win."
"Let her go," Raven said. "Your fight is with me."