The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  “This place is amazing,” she said, but Julian couldn’t spare a second to look around. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Elise, who blushed when she noticed, shaking her head with a grin and guiding him in the direction of the crowd. They went into the ballroom—a massive room, almost the size of an entire wing of Julian’s house. It was so vast that it was hard to see the end of it—or it would have been if not for the statues against the opposite wall, lions ready to spring that were several feet tall and made of solid gold. It was the centerpiece of the room, drawing the eye, and even Julian had to gaze at it when they walked inside. Elise’s mouth was half-open as she stared around. The golden statues were a fraction of the riches that the room had to offer.

  “Lord Ashton,” came a voice behind them, and Julian turned around to see a woman he had known most of his life, a friend of his father’s named Tracy Lollis. She wasn’t a noblewoman, but had managed to build her own market from the ground up, and it had been bustling every morning since the day that she’d opened it. The market made her popular with the rich noblemen, and though she was a commoner, she was treated like any member of the haute monde.

  “Hello, my lady,” Julian said to her, a title that she had adopted although she had no right to it. Tracy looked at Elise, tracing her up and down with her eyes. Julian glanced at Elise’s face to see that she didn’t look nervous, but calm, a gracious smile on her lips.

  “Who is this?” Tracy asked.

  Julian opened his mouth to answer but Elise responded first.

  “My name is Lola Lovely,” Elise said, her voice a purr as she flipped her long red hair around.

  “Miss Lovely,” Tracy said, giving Elise a delighted smile. “Where ever did he get you?”

  “I’m an actress, actually,” Elise said, glancing up at Julian with a sly look in her eyes. “He came to one of my plays and he wouldn’t give up until I agreed to court him.”

  Julian started to protest but was cut off by Tracy’s noise of delight.

  “That is so romantic,” she said, looking between Elise and Julian. “Didn’t you just fall in love with her? That hair, those lips--”

  As she spoke, Tracy touched Elise’s hair, running her fingers through it in a way that made Julian jealous.

  “God, she’s just gorgeous,” Tracy gushed.

  “She is,” Julian said, staring over at Elise, who was glowing with the compliments and looking right back at him. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you both,” Elise said with a smile. She wrapped her arm around Julian’s and pressed against him, inviting him to hold her close as a lover.

  “Who are you here with tonight, my lady?” Julian asked.

  “Oh, you know me, darling,” said Tracy, waving her hand around the room. “Everybody here is here for me.”

  Julian laughed. “Of course. My mistake.”

  “Has he given you a tour yet?” Tracy asked Elise.

  “No, he hasn’t,” Elise said.

  Tracy gave him an appalled look.

  “How could you be so rude to this girl, Julian?” she asked.

  Julian shook his head, chuckling.

  “You’re right,” he said, offering out his arm to Elise. He would be glad to get away with her anyway, to go somewhere from the group so that they could be alone. “Should we go, my lady?”

  “Yes,” said Elise, smiling at Tracy as Julian led her off. She wrapped her arm around his and looked up at his face as he guided her through the ballroom, trying not to make eye contact with anybody he knew. In that moment, Julian didn’t want to share Elise with anyone. He had realized when they’d been talking to Tracy that all he wanted to do was to get Elise alone, to touch her, to taste that smile that drove his heart crazy. If somebody stopped to introduce themselves to her, it would only make him feel impatient, so he hurried her through the room and into a long corridor around the corner.

  “Why are you in such a rush, my lord?” Elise asked, looking up into his eyes with a sweet, innocent look on her face, as if she didn’t know exactly why he needed to be alone with her.

  “Lola Lovely?” he asked, moving close to her so that she backed against the wall. He took her face in his hands and studied it.

  “Did you like that?” Elise asked him, her voice trembling slightly as he touched her.

  “You made me look like a lovesick puppy,” Julian said. “Now she thinks that I’m enamored with you.”

  Elise smiled at him, lifting her lips to his, sucking on his bottom one. She kissed him again, then again before pulling back and moving away from him, taking his hand in her gloved palm and leading him down the corridor and further away from the voices of the party. He followed her gladly, even as she led him through a dark wooden door and into another hallway. It was narrow—so narrow that they could barely walk side-by-side—and was cold as if the walls were made of stone.

  “Elise,” Julian said. “Where are you going?”

  “This is the servant’s hallway,” she said.

  “I know that.”

  “So it’s more interesting than going in the regular hallway, isn’t it?”

  Julian shook his head but couldn’t help to grin at her. The lamps that lit the hallway were spread far apart, though there were extra candles lit in alcoves, no doubt to help the extra servants brought in for the party to find their way around. Julian hoped they didn’t run into anybody, but at that point, he didn’t care. Elise was holding his hand, leading him through the hallway until they got to another wooden door to the right. There was dim light shining underneath it, and when Julian leaned forward he saw that he could see through a crack in the boards. Elise got close to him, looking through as well, and he chuckled when her eyes widened.

  “What—“

  “Hold on,” Julian whispered, and pulled her further down the corridor and away from the door. “I told you this was not a modest party.”

  “But they were—“ she cut herself off, blushing furiously. “There were so many of them. And they were naked.”

  Julian laughed. Her sweetness, her innocence made him ache. He pulled her against him and kissed her softly, and she responded by deepening the kiss. There was a noise that cut them off, the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway, and Elise rushed forward, grabbing Julian’s hand and darting into the next room without looking to see if anybody was inside. Julian shut the door behind them and Elise burst into giggles, laying down on the massive bed in the center of the room to catch her breath. The bedroom was empty. Julian stood where he was, wanting to join her on the bed, knowing that he shouldn’t.

  “Elise,” he found himself saying.

  She sat up on the bed and stared at him with her hands in her lap.

  “What is it, my lord?” she asked.

  “Come here,” Julian said. He wouldn’t go to the bed with her, wouldn’t touching her while she was already laying back underneath him. She stared at him for a moment.

  “Or what?”

  “I’m not playing a game with you, tonight, Elise,” Julian said. “Do as I say.”

  She stood up, crossing the room to him, taking his mouth in a kiss. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist, stroking the soft green velvet of her dress.

  “My lord,” she said softly. “Are you enamored with me?”

  Julian didn’t answer, but kissed her again in response. He refused to admit such a thing out loud. She pulled away from him then, taking his hand and putting it to her cheek while she closed her eyes. A warm smile passed over her face as Julian watched her, and in that moment, it was hard to keep from telling her that he was indeed enamored with her, and deeply so.

  “We should go back to the ball,” she said softly., “Or people might think we’re doing something scandalous in here.”

  “They probably think we’re in the other room,” Julian said, and a look of distaste passed over her face.

  “We definitely have to go ba
ck, then,” Elise said, and he followed her out of the room, peering around the hallways as they made their way through the regular part of the palace back to the ballroom. Everything Julian saw was just as lavish as the front of the palace had been, everything made of gold or marble or jewels, expensive linens and foreign rugs. They looked around as they made their way back to the ballroom but before Elise could stop, Julian took her arm and pulled her over to where the orchestra was playing. People were dancing together, and Elise’s eyes widened as Julian took her by the waist and pulled her within a couple of inches of him.

  “My lord,” she said, hesitating as he moved with her. “I don’t know how to dance.”

  “Yes, you do,” he said to her, looking at her face. “Move with me, Elise. You always move with me perfectly.”

  She blushed, wetting her bottom lip without realizing it, holding his gaze with a heated look. He held her a few inches away from him although he wanted to press her tighter, wanting to feel the length of her body pressed to his. Elise looked at him, then stopped for a moment and took off her gloves so that he could take her bare hands instead. The touch felt good, warm and sensual, and she closed her eyes as he pulled her fully against him, unable to resist. The band was playing but Julian barely heard the music as he held her.

  “Elise,” he said softly, just loud enough for her to hear. “Open your eyes.”

  She did so, staring at him.

  “I am very enamored with you,” Julian said, lowering his face to kiss the skin behind her ear. He pulled back to meet her eye and she was smiling, radiant, a sly smile on her face.

  “You’re only saying that because you want to come into my bed tonight,” she teased.

  “You were going to let me into your bed tonight either way,” Julian said. She raised her eyebrows, a soft laugh bursting from her chest.

  “What makes you so sure of that, my lord?”

  “Because you’re trembling,” Julian said to her. “And you can’t catch your breath. You’re squirming, baby.”

  “Maybe I’m just afraid of you,” Elise breathed, though she didn’t look afraid at all. She looked desperate, the same way she had looked the night before when he’d left her in her room.

  Julian didn’t answer that, but kissed her, tasting her mouth as they danced. They stopped moving, instead stood still as they wrapped their arms around each other while other people danced around them. Julian felt like nothing else existed, like there was only darkness and light and Elise was the only thing that kept away the darkness. She pulled away from him with a coy smile, reaching up to wipe her makeup off of his lips. Julian heard somebody grumble around them and realized only then that they were taking up space. He took her hand, beginning to lead her off of the dance area when she froze, looking over his shoulder. Julian turned around but saw nobody that he knew, and when he looked back at Elise in confusion, she had gone pale.

  “Elise—“ he began.

  “I need to go…” she said, her voice trailing off as she let go of his hand and hurried through the crowd. He tried to follow her but there were people at the entrance, blocking the flow of the room. Elise managed to disappear into a group of people, and with everyone wearing masks it was hard to catch her eye. He looked around but didn’t see her, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he wondered what was wrong.

  Chapter 20

  Elise’s heart had stopped beating the moment she’d seen Martha Vaskar. As Elise made her way through the crowd toward the woman, she still felt like it had never started again, like everything in her body had frozen when she’d met Martha’s eye. Martha’s face had gone angry and cold, and though Elise didn’t want to, she had no choice but to obey when the woman gestured her closer.

  Elise followed the sight of Martha’s dress through the crowd and out onto the lawn, where there was a massive garden lit by several hanging lamps. Martha stopped near the edge of the garden and Elise caught up to her, almost out of breath.

  “What are you doing here?” Elise asked her. She was filled with anger and frustration, close to bursting with it.

  “You know what I’m doing here,” Martha said. “You killed my daughter.”

  Elise’s mouth dropped open and she gaped at the woman.

  “I didn’t—I wouldn’t—I didn’t kill Annalynn,” Elise stammered. “I—“

  “Everybody knows you hated Annalynn, Elise. You were always pathetic and low -class. Annalynn told me that you’re some lord’s whore.”

  “I am not a whore,” Elise hissed. “Annalynn knew nothing about me.”

  “She knew you were a witch,” Martha said, and Elise glanced around. She didn’t see anybody, but her heart was still pounding. “You knows what happens when you touch people.”

  “Martha, please—“ she began, but the woman cut her off by raising her hand as if to slap her.

  “Admit that you killed my daughter,” the woman almost screamed then. “Admit that you’re a witch.”

  Elise opened her mouth to speak, to deny it, when Martha slapped her savagely across the face. Elise stumbled back, gasping at the other woman, feeling blood trickle down her lip where Martha’s hand had broken the skin. Martha started to come at her again, and Elise was ready to fight back when Julian appeared in front of them, lifting Martha away from Elise and pushing her aside. He put his hand out to help Elise up, and in his mind, she saw rage, white and angry, no visuals but the heat of a burning flame.

  Julian didn’t say anything as Elise stood, but looked at her with an unreadable expression. He turned to Martha then, nearly snarling at her.

  “I don’t know who you are,” he said,. “And I don’t care. If you ever lift your hand to her again, I will have it cut off.”

  Elise watched as Martha gaped at Julian, then turned away and hurried off. The two of them stood there in silence. Julian stared after Martha, then turned his eyes to Elise’s face. He put his finger to her lip and wiped some of the blood off, but there was no tenderness in his face to match the actions. He looked angry, almost, as he turned away from her.

  “Let’s go home,” he said. “Meet me at the front of the palace doors. I will arrange for our carriage to be brought around.”

  “Okay,” Elise said, trying to catch his eye. She wanted to be comforted by him, to feel his warmth on her skin. But he walked away before she could touch him and she sighed, starting to follow him through the crowd. People stared at her as she walked through and she knew that she must look a sight—her mask had been knocked off when she’d been slapped, and she was sure that her cheek was probably flaming red, her lip swollen.

  Elise was on her way out of the ballroom when somebody grabbed her arm, a large hand wrapping around her bare wrist. She nearly screamed when she saw the images of his thoughts in her mind—a woman on the ground with no skin, Annalynn being pierced by the knife, blood surrounding her. Elise ripped her hand away and stumbled back away from the person who had grabbed her. He was wearing a mask, his entire face covered, but Elise knew who he was.

  “Who are you?” she asked, backing up from him. He had pulled her into the corridor she’d been with Julian before. “What do you want?”

  The man didn’t speak. He hadn’t spoken when she’d met him before on the road, either, but he had those same eyes, blank as his face. Somehow, though, through his mask, Elise could tell that he was smiling.

  “You are a charming girl,” he said in a bland voice. “Much more charming than your friend.”

  Elise felt herself go cold all over as she took a step back.

  “What do you want?” she repeated.

  “I want you to mind your own business,” the man said evenly. “And I want to cut your scalp off along with all of that pretty hair.”

  Elise felt weak, felt almost like she would faint at the horror of his words. But she swallowed the feeling and reached forward to touch his arm again, forcing herself into his thoughts. She saw another woman, then anoth
er, each with the same wounds as Annalynn. Nothing about them gave her any indication of who the man might be. She let go of him when she couldn’t take it anymore, yanking her hand away and starting to run. She made her way through the foyer of the palace and didn’t stop running until she got outside, nearly colliding with Julian. Without thinking, she threw herself against him, burying her face in his chest as he held her in his arms. His body wasn’t right against hers—it was stiff, unbending. She pulled back and put her hand to his cheek, unable to read his blank features. In his mind she saw herself with Martha in the garden, the word “witch” flashing over and over in his thoughts. They changed to Nikola, to the wounds on her face, and then shifted to the image of a girl standing in the window, her hair almost as red as Elise’s.

  Julian pulled away from her then and helped her onto the carriage. He sat next to her, but as far away as he possibly could on the bench.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her, though he didn’t look at her when he said it.

  “I’m fine,” she said softly, looking down at her hands. She didn’t want to see the way he was looking at her, the same way that everybody else had looked at her once they’d found out about her powers—like she was something evil, tainted. And Julian hadn’t even learned the details yet. All he knew was that she was dirty, a witch. Elise bit her lip as they rode in silence back to the mansion. She expected him to speak and wished that he would, but even as he helped her out of the carriage, he didn’t say a word. When they were inside, he surprised her but putting his hand on her arm where she’d put her gloves back on.

  “We need to talk, Elise,” he said, his voice grave, his expression unreadable. Elise genuinely couldn’t tell what he was thinking about when he let go of her—it could have been sex, or anger, or something else entirely. She didn’t get the chance to find out before he started up the stairs and she knew that she was meant to follow him. She swallowed and did so, unprepared for what was about to come next. They went into his office and he sat across from her at his desk, looking at her as if he was doing a business deal, his face calm and collected.