14. The Kiss

Rowan's grin faltered, his laughter dying before it even started. His head snapped toward the green-haired girl, his brows drawing together in disbelief.

"What did you just say?" His voice was sharper now, a hint of warning beneath the lazy charm he usually carried.

Lucian's reaction was colder. He turned his head slowly, violet eyes narrowing on her like twin blades. "Explain yourself," he said.

The girl twirled her cup between her fingers, unfazed by the sudden shift in mood. "What? It's just a dare." Her emerald eyes flicked to me, glinting with something that wasn't quite friendly. "Truth or dare, scholarship girl. I dared you."

"Excuse me?" My voice cut through the quiet hum around the fire, sharper than I intended.

Rowan leaned back slightly, his grin returning but thinner now, more like disbelief. "You're seriously trying to make her kiss Elias?"

The girl tilted her head innocently, but her smirk said otherwise. "I'm sure kissing an ordinary girl isn't going to kill him."

Elias, who had been silent until now, set his bottle down with a muted thud. His hazel eyes locked on the girl, then on me, his expression hard. "Don't," he said, the single word clipped like a warning.

"Why?" she shot back, her voice lilting with false sweetness. "Are you scared she'll say no? Or are you scared she won't?"

That earned her a sharp look from Lucian, who shifted slightly, like he was on the verge of shutting her down. Rowan let out a quiet, low whistle and muttered, "Someone's feeling bold tonight."

I forced my voice to stay steady despite the way my pulse pounded. "This is ridiculous," I said, standing my ground even as I felt every eye on me.

But the green-haired girl wasn't backing off. "So? Are you going to do it, Maeve? Or are you going to back out and prove you're all bark?"

I turned to Elias, my gaze colliding with his. He was already looking at me, his jaw tight, eyes stormy.

"You shouldn't," he said again, lower this time.

"Why not?" I shot back, lifting my chin. "Afraid I'll ruin your perfect brooding image?"

A muscle in his jaw ticked. "You wouldn't dare."

I smirked, though my stomach flipped. "Try me."

The murmurs rose around us, the crowd buzzing like a hive. My head felt fuzzy, the drink swirling warm in my veins, but I couldn't look away from Elias.

His jaw was tight, his lips pressed together in a hard line, and for some stupid reason my gaze dropped to them, sharper, fuller, and way too tempting now that I'd noticed.

Elias's eyes narrowed, following my glance. "Don't," he said softly, his voice a low rumble. "You don't even know what you're playing with."

I forced a laugh, though my heart pounded against my ribs like it wanted to escape. "I'm not scared of you."

He tilted his head, his eyes darkening. "You should be."

"Oh, please," I said, my tone dripping with defiance. "You think I'm going to crumble because you're glaring at me? Cute. But I don't back down. Not from you. Not from any of you."

Elias's gaze burned into me, his jaw clenched so hard I half-expected it to crack. 

I started to rise, my palms flat on my knees. "Fine. I'll leave," I said, the word coming out sharper than I intended. "If you're that scared of a little kiss, I'll—"

I didn't get to finish.

A hand closed around my arm, firm and unyielding, and before I could process it, Elias was on his feet. His face was unreadable, but his grip on me wasn't rough.

And then his lips were on mine.

The world tilted. The fire roared louder, or maybe it was the blood rushing in my ears.

His lips were warm and firm, pressing against mine with a force that wasn't gentle but wasn't careless either. It wasn't a soft, testing kiss. It was a clash, a dare answered, a war declared.

For half a second, my brain froze. I had never been kissed before. Not once. And now, here I was, kissing him. Elias, the brooding heir who looked at me like I was both his enemy and his undoing.

My hands hovered uselessly for a moment before instinct took over. I gripped the edge of the log just to ground myself because I swear my knees were seconds away from giving out.

He pulled back first, just enough to look down at me. His eyes burned, a storm I couldn't name, his lips parted slightly like he was about to say something, then stopped.

The crowd had gone silent. I could feel the stares, the murmurs building, but I couldn't hear any of it.

The green-haired girl blinked, her smirk faltering for the first time. "Wow," she muttered, clearly not expecting Elias to take control like that.

Lucian's gaze was strange. There was no amusement there, just a cold, cutting edge. His violet eyes locked on Elias, sharp enough to slice through the tension, like Elias had just crossed a line that should never have been touched.

Rowan looked no better. The usual teasing glint in his eyes was gone, replaced by something darker, hotter, a barely leashed anger simmering beneath the surface. His jaw flexed once, the muscle ticking like he was grinding his teeth.

I found my voice, though it came out lower and sharper than I'd planned. "What was that?" I asked, my hand brushing over my lips before I could stop it.

Elias's expression hardened instantly. "You were going to do it," he said, like that explained everything. "I just… handled it."

"Handled it?" My voice pitched, half incredulous, half something else I didn't want to name. "You—" I stopped myself before the words tumbled out. My heart was still hammering, my breath uneven.

"You're playing a dangerous game," he said, his voice lower now. "Don't start what you can't finish."

I swallowed hard, the taste of him still on my lips, the heat of the moment still thrumming through my veins. "Who says I'm scared of finishing?" I shot back, though my voice was quieter than I wanted.

His eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me again, this time for reasons that had nothing to do with a dare.

But then Lucian's voice cut through the moment like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.

"Enough."

Just one word. Not loud, but sharp enough to slice straight through the heat between me and Elias. My stomach dropped. His eyes, those unnervingly violet, inhumanly perfect eyes, shifted from Elias to me. He didn't look angry anymore.

Or maybe he did. Or maybe that was just Lucian's resting face, because honestly, who could tell with a guy who looked like he'd been carved by ancient gods and programmed to scowl?

"Elias. Rowan. We're leaving."

There was a pause. Elias didn't move. His hazel eyes were still locked on me, like he hadn't decided if he was going to listen. Like he definitely hadn't decided if he was done.

Lucian didn't say it again, but he didn't have to.

He just looked at Elias, and somehow that was enough. Rowan stood, too, though it wasn't the smooth, easy movement I'd seen before.

No, this was stiff. Sharp.

Like he didn't trust himself not to punch something. Or maybe someone.

The crowd parted like someone had yelled shark, everyone whispering as the three of them stalked away.

And me? I just stayed there.

My heart was doing this weird mix of breakdancing and free-falling, and I was definitely not okay.