All the masks surrounding me are absolutely amazing! We’ve never had such lavish costumes where I grew up in Russia, and now I can’t help but surround myself with the amazing creativity and artistry of a masquerade party.

It seemed only fitting to have a Halloween party, since tonight is my last night on American soil for a full year. Most of the people from the ballet studio were able to make it, and even some very important people from the arts community.

Andrei even let me use the manor he operates out of, and it has added such a taste of style and pizzazz that I know I’ll remember forever. I look at Cassie and her beautiful white lacy outfit, adorned with a light pink mask, and I can’t help but feel a bit homesick with the idea of leaving her. I’ve been teaching her ballet ever since Andrei married her, and I’m going to miss her most of all.

“Don’t cry!” she says urgently, and I have to laugh it off that she can see through my strong facade so well. There’s no hiding my feelings from that perceptive young woman.

“I’m not,” I protest, wiping underneath my eyes. “I don’t want my eyeliner to smudge!”

She laughs and tugs me into a hug. She’s come so far since I first met her, when she was a meek and shy woman. Now she shines like the brightest light, and she’s the person I go to whenever I need some moral support. I’m definitely going to be spending a fortune on long distance to keep in touch.

I hug her back, but out of the corner of my eye, I spot a man I’ve seen a couple times before. I think I recognize him from one of my performances...

He’s tall, and broad, with strong arms and a tight black shirt that hugs his body. He’s looking at me, and doesn’t glance away when I catch him staring. It sends an enticing shiver down my spine. Slowly he moves through the crowd, away from me, calm as anything, but it’s like being hit by lightning: he might be gone, but wow did he leave a mark on me.

Even as I pull away and glance back to Cassie, I’m far more intrigued about that man, all my other problems disappeared. Where do I know him from?

“See someone?” Cassie asks sweetly, glancing in my direction, but the man is already gone, lost to the crowd.

I shake my head, but the stranger’s gorgeous face is burned into my memory. I want to find him again before the party is over.

“It’s nothing,” I brush it off, looking back and her and noticing her arms are covered in goosebumps. “Oh no, are you freezing?”

Cassie blushes at the fact that I noticed, and she shakes her head. “I’m fine! Just the fall air is creeping in, I guess.”

“This place is huge, it must be hard to heat. I have a shawl upstairs I can lend you, though?”

“That’d be wonderful, Sonya. I’d really appreciate that.”

I smile and my friend and nod. “I'll be right back. You go, mingle. I’ll find you in a couple minutes.” I look up at the magnificent staircase that sprawls out before me, its white marble looking so pure and clean as I begin to ascend.

I’m not being totally selfless in getting Cassie my shawl. After all, if I’m upstairs, maybe I can find that stunning stranger again...

I reach the top and take a moment to stand at the balcony, glancing over my party. There are so many people I want to say goodbye to, so many people I need to thank for helping me get to perform all the way across Western Europe, but instead I’m focused on someone I’ve never even spoken to before.

I spot him moving through the crowd, alert, but he’s intent upon the crowd and not me. Still, the heat of his glance earlier still burns through me, and there’s something seductive about watching him when he doesn’t know. It feels almost wrong in a way, but in a way that fans the flames he lit earlier.

He heads into a side room, I think in the direction of the kitchen, and I smile before I quickly turn. I’ll go grab the shawl and then approach him when he’s alone. It’ll be my going away present to myself.

When I enter the bedroom where the coats and jackets are stored, though, the light switch doesn’t work. I sigh, quickly moving to the nightside table, fumbling in the dimness of the moon outside for a table lamp.

I stub my toe on it and I yelp before I manage to finally find the switch. The second before I turn it on, though, I glance up, and in the inky reflection of the sky in the window, I can see a shadow of a man behind me.