At least until I spotted Eli walking toward me, his mask dangling from his fingers. I shot up and shoved my feet into my shoes as he stopped beside the table. The relaxed feeling vanished, butterflies taking its place.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down.

“Hey.” I debated leaving my mask in place then decided if he was brave enough not to wear one on Samhain then so was I. I pulled it off and set it on the table.

He stared at me a moment without speaking, his bright blue eyes unnerving. I dropped my gaze only to catch sight of the edge of his tattoo again. The number of butterflies in my stomach seemed to grow exponentially.

Annoyed with myself, I forced my eyes upward again before he caught me staring. “What do you want?”

He blinked at my harsh tone. “I’ve been thinking about the dream last night. Do you think it means something?”

“No idea.”

His eyes narrowed, eyebrows slanting closer together. “What’s with you? I thought you wanted to catch the killer, too.”

I shook my head. “Catching him was never my job. I’m just supposed to report the stuff I see in your dreams, which I did. The rest is on the senate.”

Eli thumped the table with his hand. “How can you say that? That dream was different from the others. Don’t even try to tell me you weren’t scared by it.”

I gritted my teeth, unable to keep the flood of images from my mind. The Minotaur with the iron ring in its nose. The black phoenix. All that blood and screaming. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. Not if you’re gonna keep avoiding me.”

I glowered at him. “What difference does it make?”

“We’re supposed to be a team.”

“Right. A team.”

“What is your deal? Are you ever not sarcastic?”

Oh no he didn’t. I started to stand up, but Eli grabbed my wrist, pulling me back down. It surprised me how quickly he moved, a definite reminder of how physically daunting he could be. As if I needed a reminder.

I stared at him, frozen in place. His hand was so large his fingers easily encircled my wrist. My skin burned where he touched me, but not in a bad way. Oh, no. Just the opposite. Getting a grip on myself, I pulled my hand away. He slowly let go, but there was something reluctant about it.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what your problem is,” he said.

I wracked my brain for a safe, acceptable reason. “Fine. Your girlfriend is spreading rumors that I try to seduce you during our dream-sessions.” It was the first complaint to come to mind and the only one I felt comfortable talking about.

“What?” His face reddened. I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Maybe both. “Man, I can’t believe her sometimes. I’ll get her to stop.”

“Good.”

“She doesn’t like us spending time together. She’s jealous.”

“Please, like I’m stupid enough to believe that excuse.”

“It’s not stupid. It’s true.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what he meant, but I caught a flash of pale pink across the ballroom, heading this way. “I think it’s time for you to go.”

He drummed his fingers on the table, a scowl on his face. “Why? You afraid your date is going to see us and get mad or something?”

“No, but yours is.”

Eli looked over his shoulder. “Crap.” He stood but didn’t leave. “We still need to talk about the dream. What if that Minotaur represents the killer’s next victim?”

The same thought had occurred to me. “You’re right. But seriously, if you don’t go Katarina’s gonna make a scene in a big way.” She was close enough now that I could see the thin, furious line of her mouth beneath her mask.

“I’ll deal with Kat,” said Eli. “She won’t bother you, and she won’t be spreading any more rumors. I can’t stand that crap.”

He sounded a bit disgusted, and I couldn’t resist asking, “Why are you dating her? Do you even have anything in common?”

A puzzled expression crossed Eli’s face. “I don’t know. I’m just really attracted to her. I can’t seem to think straight around her. We don’t do much talking anyways.”

Yuck.

“Might want to think about that,” I said. I realized it must be hard dating a siren, especially one like Katarina who regularly abused her natural abilities. I didn’t think Eli had any idea that the compulsive attraction he felt for her could be mostly siren magic. Then it occurred to me that this might be one of the chinks in The Will spell that Marrow had mentioned. Sirens weren’t able to lure people to their deaths or anything, but they still excelled at seduction, which I imagined could be equally harmful.

I supposed there were some things so fundamental to a creature’s nature that no spell could ever control it completely. Maybe that meant Katarina and I had something in common. I shuddered at the thought.

“See you around.” Eli slid on his mask and hurried off, intercepting Katarina in the nick of time.

Paul returned with drinks a moment later and handed me a goblet of apple cider.

“Thanks.” I drank it down in three swallows.

“You okay?” Paul asked. “Was that guy bothering you?”

“No.” I stood up. “I’m fine. Ready to dance some more?” I’d caught sight of Eli and Katarina heading out to the floor, and the last thing I wanted was to sit here and watch them.