Once Upon a Temptingly Ruinous Kiss - Bree Wolf Page 0,99

look upon reality once more. Perhaps it will help chase away the exaggerations my mind conjured.” She looked around, her eyes sweeping over the winding staircase, as they headed toward the arched doorway leading into the ballroom where a large crowd danced to a hauntingly beautiful melody. “Yes, it is dark and frightening, but…”

Drake was about to ask her to continue when she suddenly moved forward, all but pulling him along, her arm still curled around his. Her gaze slid over the many faceless people before them, dancing and laughing, and to his utter surprise, he found a small smile tease the corners of her mouth upward. “There’s nothing wrong with the way they enjoy themselves,” Leonora mumbled, and Drake knew that she was not talking to him, but herself. “They came here tonight to be free of society’s shackles, to do as they pleased without repercussions. Yes, dark souls might hide amongst them, but most of them are here simply in order to find themselves freed for one night.” She turned to look up at him, her blue eyes searching his behind the mask. “What would you do if you could be free for one night? If you did not have to worry about consequences? If you could simply do as you pleased?” Something almost daring lingered in her gaze, and Drake knew not what to do with it.

Of course, he knew what he would do if he did not need to worry about consequences. He knew quite well what he wanted, and at that moment in the shadowy darkness of the ballroom, the urge to do so, to simply whisk her into his arms was almost overpowering. Yet, he reminded himself that even a night such as this would always hold consequences. It was an illusion to think that one could act without thinking about the next day.

Drake averted his gaze. “I should take you home.”

Her jaw seemed to tense. “Then why did you want to come here in the first place?” she demanded, a sharper tone to her voice than before. “It was your idea, was it not?”

Regarding her carefully, Drake pulled her aside. “I intended to come here to gain a better understanding of the situation you faced that night. I did not for a second believe I would be able to unmask your attacker. My investigators are still working on that. They are here this very moment.” Although Drake had to admit he could not tell where for their identities, too, were hidden by masks.

Heaving a deep sigh, Leonora briefly closed her eyes. “I’ve come to realize that we are fooling ourselves thinking that we will ever be able to learn his identity.” Although sadness lingered in her blue eyes, her chin was raised in a way that spoke of strength and courage. “I came here tonight to put the past behind me, to finally find the courage to move on. I will never know who it was or why he did what he did.” She shrugged, her hand still heavy upon his arm. “I need to make my peace with it, and so do you.”

Drake felt his teeth grind together, every fiber of his being unable to accept defeat. How many times had he challenged men who had committed crimes against those they were meant to protect?

Countless times.

And yet, here, now, where Leonora was concerned, when it mattered the most, he was unable to help. Unable to make a difference. Unable to protect her.

“Will you come with me?” Leonora asked, her voice suddenly fainter than before.

Drake frowned. “Come where?”

Instead of answering him, Leonora simply tugged on his arm and led him back out of the ballroom. They turned down a long, darkened corridor where only a few people lingered. Most hastened back and forth, slipped into deserted rooms and disappeared from sight.

Leonora’s steps became hesitant, and Drake felt her tremble as they moved onward. He gazed down at her and saw her chest rise and fall with each rapid breath. Her teeth gnawed on her lower lip as she cast her gaze from side to side, clinging to his arm as though it were a lifeline and she in danger of being swept out to sea.

Drake felt an ice-cold shiver dance down his spine when he realized where they were headed. “You don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

Agonizingly slow step by agonizingly slow step, they moved onward until they reached a corner that was almost pitch black, heavy curtains covering the windows and