Her lips quipped up with amusement; he was curious, although as to what Juniper couldn’t pinpoint. It was a good thing as she still had secrets she was keeping. For one, she was going to hex the hell out of him before he could even blink. (Even if he was well aware that she was capable of bodily harm; June only hoped that he’d been half-kidding and her curses would take him by surprise.) Then came his response of being the oldest, a fact that she hadn't been sure of until now - it was useless knowledge if was going to be honest. She was too, but he hadn’t asked, therefore she wasn’t going to offer that information to him. Let Cassian Valenduris be curious about her.

Moving onto the dance floor, June’s entire body went rigid as his fingers grazed against her; it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, any gentleman would do the same (except Mr. Blackwood, the man who was second on her list for pissing her off, although for entirely different reasons), but she found herself hating being held by him. If she could tuck tail and run without looking like a fool she would. She curled her own fingers around his shoulder. Then she frowned.

It deepened as he brought up a personal question. June considered snapping at him, telling him to fuck off because all he was going to do was run back to his friends and mock the new debutante who had dreams. A career and attending Flint Institution? She might as well mark a target on her back for ostracization. Most upper class men weren’t interested in more than a pretty face and Juniper had been warned to keep her mouth shut about her silly dreams of what she wanted to be, as only a mother or a socialite seemed to be the only acceptable answers.

Pursing her lips together she narrowed her eyes, searching his gaze for any malicious intent; finding none, she exhaled sharply. “I would like to study ancient texts and determine what spells are extinct and give them a new purpose in life. I'd focus on hexes, curses and jinxes. A curse specialist, in a way.” 'I don't believe all dark magic is necessarily a bad thing.' But the witch couldn't say that aloud because he seemed like he'd dig into that statement. She’d join the experimental charm committee and spend her days mulling over hexes and jinxes to make them better than before. Huffing, June looked anywhere except for him, not wanting to see the way he’d curiously raise his eyebrows at her. How he’d silently mock her. “It's a shame considering how many spells we’ve lost over time simply because people felt they weren’t useful anymore.”

And, if she were lucky, she’d find the perfect spell that he wouldn’t be able to easily undo. He deserved it for taking her virginity then leaving her high and dry.

“And you, Mister Valenduris? What do you do? Something in law enforcement, if memory serves correctly.” June hummed for a moment before she finally turned his gaze toward him. “Your dream career?”

---

---