After giving Romeo his gifts, Serenah went to the dance floor with him. She was having fun and managed to relax. She was even able to ignore the glares from Amanah and her minions. The night was going so well that she did not want it to end.
She shyly smiled up at Romeo, her breath catching at his intense stare. It made her shiver with a sense of awareness that she had not had before. It was not bad; just different. She would have to talk to Lael about it when she got home. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. She wondered if Romeo could hear it.
He gently pulled her close, and she heard the steady beat of his heart. It was comforting, and she relaxed some more. She could stare into his gorgeous eyes for hours if she had the opportunity.
His breath heated her neck as he whispered, "Enjoying the view?"
Heat crept across her cheeks, and she squeaked, "Yes!"
His low chuckle flustered her, and she averted her gaze. "You're so mean," she pouted.
"Am I?" he teased as he took a finger and stroked her cheek. "You are honest to a fault. I love that about you, Sera."
She sneaked a sideways glance at him. His open expression reassured her that he told the truth. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by an unwelcome voice.
"May I cut in?" Nicholas asked.
Having his attention on her made her feel dirty. Her eyes widened in surprise before she averted her gaze. She had learned over the past few months that if she made eye contact, he would continue to pursue her or harass her until she responded.
"Get lost, Nick," growled Romeo.
"I wasn't talking to you, Romeo. My question was for Sera. So, how about it? One dance?" He gave her his most charismatic smile.
"No." She had to be firm. Romeo's arms gently hugged her. She could do this. Romeo would back her up.
Nicholas blinked, his expression surprised. "What?"
"I said, 'no,'" she repeated firmly, her head coming up so that she fiercely looked him in the eye. She felt her magic rise, and her eyes glowed. She wanted to enjoy the dance without trouble from her sister's followers.
Nicholas stepped back, shocked. His tone changed to one of cajoling. "C'mon, Sera. You wouldn't leave a guy hanging, would you?"
Before Serenah could speak, Romeo cut in.
"She said no, Nick. What part didn't you hear? Besides, she's my girlfriend. Why the hell do you think you can dance with her?"
"You sound like some neanderthal when you talk about her like she's some possession," drawled Nicholas.
Serenah's irritation rose at Nicholas's persistence. She wanted him to go.
"Go away, please. I'm happy dancing with Romeo," she quietly said, not wanting to make a scene.
Nicholas grabbed Serenah's arm and jerked her from Romeo, causing her to stumble and crash into his body. He took the opportunity to cop a feel before she shoved him away from her.
"Don't touch me!" she snarled.
He grinned and backed up when Romeo stepped in front of her.
"You shouldn't have done that," Romeo snapped.
Nicholas held up his hands in surrender. "My bad," he replied with fake sincerity.
"Yeah, your bad," Romeo retorted as he escorted Serenah back to their table.
~***~
Fidelis savored the feel of Sera in his arms. The night was going great. His beautiful girlfriend was enjoying herself, and her cute, sneaking glances in his direction made him grin like an idiot. He took the opportunity to tease her a few times just to watch her cheeks turn pink. It was a lovely color on her. It made him happy that he could get her to blush when no one else could.
Things were going so well that when Nick strolled over, Fidelis didn't think it would be too much of a problem. He would put the human in his place, and the other boy would go away. He could have kicked himself for forgetting how tenacious Nick could be when he was pursuing something.
Despite Sera's refusal of Nick's advances, the other boy refused to listen. He even went as far as to jerk Sera away from Fidelis. She freed herself, and Fidelis stepped in front of her.
"You shouldn't have done that," he snapped.
Nick held up his hands in surrender. "My bad," he replied with fake sincerity.
"Yeah, your bad," Fidelis retorted as he escorted Sera back to their table. He could feel her trembling. His anger rose. He really needed to kick Nick's ass one solid good time to get his point across that Sera was off limits.
They were almost at their table when he felt a surge of magic and then concerned shouts. He turned and saw Nick unconscious on the floor. Who the hell did that? It wasn't anyone's magic he recognized. He also couldn't tell where it had come from.
"Sera, are you okay?" he asked when he saw her stunned expression at the chaos happening around Nick as staff rushed over to check on the fallen teenager.
"Yes," she mumbled, her head lowered.
Fidelis cursed under his breath. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "It's not your concern that something happened to him. You were amazing, by the way."
She blinked, confusion spreading across her face. "I don't understand."
"You stood up to him. I'm so proud of you." He hugged her tightly and felt her trembling stop.
"I just wanted him to leave me alone."
"I know. It's not your fault he couldn't take a hint." He pulled out her chair for her.
She sat, and so did he. He held her hand, stroking her fingers while they watched the staff perform first aid on Nick. Maybe he was spiteful, but he was glad something happened to Nick. Maybe now the boy would leave Sera alone. He would wait for a little while until the commotion died down. He would take Sera back out on the dance floor then. He did have one question. Who in the world used magic on Nick?
~***~
From the moment they had arrived at the dance, Penelope was excited to see Romeo's reaction to Sera's transformation. Things went rather well, and she, like the others, was surprised to see Sera giving Romeo gifts. She recalled that at the mall, Sera had been secretive about her purchases from the jeweler. Now she knew why. Her friend must have been anxious when picking the gifts as well as giving them to Romeo.
Penelope had never seen him wear jewelry before, but she was sure that it would change with Sera's gifts. She corralled the guys into taking her and Liz out on the floor to dance. Everyone, including Al, seemed to be having a good time. They had taken a brief break when she spotted Nick heading for Sera and Romeo.
Damn that guy! He was an arrogant, predatory prick. She had despised him since ninth grade when he tried to sexually assault her. She kicked his ass, and he gave her a wide berth ever since. She tried to warn other girls about him, but was ignored. That was something the humans had in common with the Poten and Cornibus of her old home. They only paid attention to the things they wanted to see and tended to ignore things that did not fit into their worldview. Sad, but true.
She was grateful to Autem for sending her and the others to this world, but sometimes living here was as tedious and infuriating as their old home. She really liked Romeo and Sera and was rooting for them. She had suspected that Sera was not human because of the young woman's mannerisms. Her suspicions were confirmed at the internship when Penelope spotted Sera's pendant.
The pendant was passed to the Grand High Priestess of Poten for safekeeping. The High Priest of Cornibus had the matching chain in their possession. The Cornibus order of priests probably didn't remember they had such a precious relic, which was a shame.
She shook her head. She was getting sidetracked. She forced her attention back to the drama occurring on the dance floor between Nick, Sera, and Romeo. She watched intently as Sera stood up for herself. Penelope was proud of her for doing so. She stood when Nick jerked Sera into his arms and groped her. Penelope's fury was swift. She decided to punish him. How dare he molest Sera!
She waited until Romeo and Sera came toward her before gathering her magic, and with a flick of her fingers, sent a sliver of paralyzing magic into Nick's body. She smirked in satisfaction when he crashed to the floor. He probably had a concussion. Not that she cared. He deserved that pain a hundred times over. She changed her smirk to a smile when the couple reached the table.
"Are you enjoying the dance so far?" she asked with a grin. The couple looked happy, and Penelope felt nothing but satisfaction. The rest of the night should be fun now that some of the trash was removed. Once Nick had been taken away by ambulance, Penelope stretched her arms, startling everyone at the table.
She clapped her hands. "Now, let's have some fun!"
Pleased with her contribution to returning the dance's festive air, Penelope grabbed Al for a dance. The night was still young after all.