Chapter 184: A Prickly Moment
When Ashlynn and the strange reptilian man stepped off the dance floor, she felt refreshed and welcome at the masquerade in a way that she hadn’t before. While Nyrielle gave her leave to mingle and encouraged her to take advantage of the masquerade to meet others, her obvious human ancestry made her feel like an outsider even at an event where everyone wore masks.
This gentleman, however, felt like an old friend she was encountering after years apart. His touch was gentle and more respectful than any of the young or older lords she’d ever danced with at her father’s events and even when they had nothing to say to each other, the silence between them still felt comfortable.
Before she could thank him, however, the echo of Nyrielle’s heartbeat within her chest grew still and Ashlynn turned in the direction she felt her lover approaching from, wondering what could have caused her such distress.
There was already a visible bubble of people who wouldn’t approach the masked man who currently stood with Ashlynn holding his toned forearm. When Nyrielle strode toward them, however, Ashlynn felt like her lover was parting a sea of people through presence alone.
As soon as Ashlynn’s emerald eyes met Nyrielle’s midnight blue gaze, a chill wind seemed to flow across the room, pressing back against the prickly aura that radiated from the reptilian man. To most attendees of the masquerade, the chill wind was a mixed blessing. When it met the spiky, prickly aura, the latter began to fade as if it were a rose left to wilt without water or daylight.
The chill wind, however, carried a touch of the grave with it, a feeling of things long dead that should have been left properly buried. The closer Nyrielle came, the more oppressive her aura felt, leaving many to wonder who dared to provoke the Blood Princess and draw her displeasure.
"My Love," Ashlynn said, letting go of the man’s arms to glide across the floor to Nyrielle. "Is something the matter? You look..." her voice trailed off as she realized that rather than her, her lover’s gaze was locked on the man she’d been dancing with.
"Are you well?" Zedya asked, stepping up to pull Ashlynn to the side. "Do you feel any sharp pains anywhere on your body?" As Zedya spoke, she carefully examined Ashlynn, amazed that she didn’t notice a hint of the rich, woody, and coppery aroma unique to Ashlynn’s blood.
Zedya actually had to check, carefully inspecting Ashlynn’s icy blue and white lace dress for any telltale dots of red before she would believe that Ashlynn had endured the man’s fierce aura without suffering so much as a pinprick.