My eyes wandered to the faces watching my every move as Julian and I made our way down the stairs. I would never have thought that these normal looking people weren't human. As we got to the bottom, I sighed in relief that I didn't embarrass myself. Julian lifted my hand to his mouth and gently kissed it, never breaking eye contact; his gaze sent shivers through my body. He then led me to the middle of the room, and gentle music began to play.

Have you ever danced before? Julian asked me.

My stomach dropped, and I began to panic. No. Julian, I didn't know I would have to dance in front of all these people. I don't think I can.

What did you think would happen at a ball? Just follow my lead. Julian's voice echoed through my head.

I don't know. I knew there would be dancing, but I didn't think I would be the center of it. I replied, annoyed.

Julian beamed at me before spinning me around and pulling me close to his body. I was actually grateful that he could communicate with me through my mind. It was a comfort since I didn't really know what to do. His brown eyes locked with mine as our bodies moved in sync with the music. Whenever I looked over Julian's shoulder, I could see all eyes on us, including Tristan's.

Not bad for someone who can't dance.

I looked up and saw Julian smiling at me. I rolled my eyes at him as the music finally came to an end. Julian stepped back from me and bowed, so I followed his lead and curtsied. Everyone surrounding us clapped, then some began to dance while others conversed with each other. Relief washed over me from the lack of attention, and I observed the people around me. The vampires looked relatively normal, besides everyone looking perfect. I couldn't find a flaw on anyone.

"If you keep staring, you are going to attract the wrong person," Julian whispered in my ear.

I jumped and spun around to face him. "Would you stop that."

He laughed at my frown. "I'm just looking out for you, princess. You are in an entirely different world here."

"I can take care of myself," I said sternly while looking him in the eyes. Flashes of my conversation with Tristan in the piano room came to mind.

Julian gave me a goofy grin before touching my shoulder. "I bet you can."

With that, he walked into a crowd of people and left me alone. Nervously, my eyes searched the room for anyone else I knew, and they immediately found aqua ones staring back at me. The intensity of his gaze made me blush and quickly look away. When I looked back to him, he was gone.

A sudden touch on my shoulder made me turn around, but it wasn't Tristan like I was expecting or hoping. A young guy with slicked back, brown hair and piercing brown eyes stood in front of me.

"Hello, Claire. It's an honor to meet you."

It took me a moment to answer him back, "Hi, it's nice to meet you too...uh?"

"Collin McGrath. I am an old friend of the Labelle family." He gave me a handshake and kissed the top of my hand. "Would you care for a dance?"

My widened at his request, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to because I'm not much of a dancer. It's one thing to dance with Julian, but I didn't know this guy. He definitely was good looking though, and I couldn't help but admire his features. I gave in and nodded my head so I didn't come off as rude. It couldn't hurt to just dance with a good-looking guy, and I honestly wasn't sure if he'd try to eat me if I declined. Collin gave me a charming smile and took my hands. We began to elegantly sway with the music.

"It must be strange to be around all these vampires, huh?" He broke the silence as he spun me around.

"It is, kind of, but I actually forget what you all are since you look and act so normal. It hasn't really sunk in yet," I answered truthfully.

"Yes, we have adapted pretty well. You should've seen us 100 years ago. We were quite savage then. We would just sink our fangs into any human we came across," he replied as he eyed my neck. My heart raced. "Oh! Don't worry, Claire. We've come a long way from that. I doubt you would see any of that here. The royal family frowns upon our old ways and won't partake in it."

Relief washed over me. Aurora did say I was safe here. Honestly, I hadn't given much thought of vampires sucking blood from humans or killing them. The royal family is so normal that I forget what they really are. Collin spun me around again and pulled me close against his grey suit. I could feel his hard chest against me, but it didn't give me the same feeling as being close to Tristan.

"That's good." I gave him a small smile but it didn't quite reach my eyes.

"I suppose it is," he speculated while looking past me. "So, how did the King and Queen come to find you? It's very interesting that they would expose what we are to a human, let alone let one stay in the castle as a guest."

"Oh, um...Julian kind of found me in the forest and brought me here," I explained and ignored his last comment.

Truthfully, I had no idea why I was really here, or why I wasn't killed. I knew that Julian saw something important when he touched me, but I had no idea why it was important to them and why it was happening to me. In this moment, I was just happy to be away from the hospital.

"Interesting. Julian usually doesn't hesitate when he comes across a human. You must be something special." He looked down at me like a predator does prey, and a hint of his fangs peeked from under his lip.

My heart started to beat a little faster at the sight. Something about this guy and his questions screamed danger. He seemed nice on the surface, but something was wrong about him.

Luckily for me, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. "May I cut in with our guest of honor?" Tristan sounded polite, but he was giving Collin a hard glare.

I think I was right to be nervous about that guy.

Collin just returned the look with a charming smile. "Of course, Prince Tristan. Claire is a very lovely dancer and good company. I can see why you have her as a guest here."

Tristan clenched his jaw, and curtly replied, "Yes, she is. Well, it's been a pleasure seeing you again. If you will excuse us."

Collin's eyebrows shot up. "Ah, such a hurry to dance with her. She really is quite special then." Just as quickly as it appeared, the roguish gleam in his eyes vanished before turning to face me. "It's been a pleasure, Claire. I hope to see you again."

"It was nice to meet you, Collin. Thank you for the dance." I gave him a polite response, but I was even more suspicious now.

Collin lightly kissed my hand before disappearing into the sea of vampires. I turned to Tristan and his eyes bore into mine, the tension grappling onto me. A few seconds later, he grabbed my hand with one hand and my waist with the other, and we lightly rocked to the music. We were so close that I could feel his body through his suit. Tiny sparks of electricity tingled on my skin where our bodies met. We stayed silent for awhile until I couldn't stand the tension anymore.

"I didn't think you would want to dance with me after what happened the other day," I blurted out.

Tristan ignored my comment. "Stay away from Collin. He's a shady guy."

Maybe I was right to be apprehensive with him.

I didn't like how Tristan suddenly took an interest in who I talk to though. He ignored me for a week, and now suddenly cares about who I interact with?

I scoffed, "Possessive much?"

"I am not possessive. Just trust me, and stay away from him," he ordered, scowling.

"Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes. Something about him brought out the worst in me.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?!" He half whispered.

"What are you talking about? You've been difficult since I met you. You told your dad you wanted me to leave and now you care about me talking to Collin?!" I raised my voice at him and pulled away.

The tingling sensation diminished, and Tristan's eyes turned black. "I don't care. Talk to him all you want, Claire. I won't stop you, and while you are at it, maybe you could leave with him too."

I gasped as a hot tear fell down my cheek. I know I was being rather difficult, but I didn't expect that response. I could feel eyes on me, but the music didn't stop. Luckily the ball was so loud that not many people heard us. I couldn't meet Tristan's eyes and ran to the nearest door I could find. I needed to get away from that infuriating man. I've never had so many conflicting emotions before. What he said hurt me, but all I wanted to do was hug him to make the pain go away. I didn't like how he was making me act or feel. It was like there were two parts of me clashing constantly.

What is happening to me?