The ballroom shimmered like a page from a storybook — chandeliers casting golden halos, violin strings threading through the air like silk, and the hush of whispers behind jeweled masks. Elegance clung to every surface, but amid the artifice, there was one truth you never questioned: you always knew where Sylus was.

Even in a room of dozens, masked and moving, your eyes found him effortlessly. He stood near the balcony doors, dressed in deep midnight blue, his mask a sleek crescent of silver and black. The moment your gaze met his, he tipped his glass in your direction — a familiar, lazy smirk tugging at his mouth. The same one he'd given you on your wedding day, just before vowing he'd never stop chasing you.

You crossed the floor slowly, letting him watch you. The train of your gown whispered across the marble, and the diamonds in your mask caught the light like tiny stars. He watched every step like he was memorizing it.

“You always make an entrance,” he murmured as you stopped in front of him.

“You’re the one who said this was your kind of party,” you teased. “Secret identities, slow dancing, a little danger…”

He took your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles, eyes glinting behind his mask. “Sure, but I married the most beautiful person in the room. I already know who I’m going home with.”

You rolled your eyes, but your heart fluttered the same way it had during your first dance as husband and wife. And when he pulled you into his arms — one hand firm at your back, the other guiding yours — it wasn’t just graceful. It was familiar. Lived-in. Electric with the trust that only came from choosing each other a thousand times.

As the orchestra swelled, the two of you moved together easily — not just practiced, but in rhythm with each other in a way only married lovers could be. You leaned in close.

“You remember our wedding dance?” you whispered.

“I remember thinking I could die right there and not regret a thing.”

“And now?”

He dipped you slightly, a smirk hidden behind reverence. “Now I know better. I want forever.”