45. Rosalina
45
Rosalina
T here were many things in my life I knew I’d never do. And most of them were for very practical reasons.
I’d never go to university because there wasn’t enough money. I’d never move away from Papa because he needed my help. I’d never refuse Lucas because he’d ripped a part of me out and kept it ransom in his back pocket.
And I would never dance with a fae prince because my life was not magical. There were no such things as fairytales, and I was not the main character.
And yet, after I chide Prince Keldarion of the Winter Realm for not taking a dance partner, he stares at me with that icy blue gaze, puts his rough hand on my cheek, and says, “The only person in this room I want to dance with is you.”
I intake a sharp breath. That cruel voice in the back of my head, the one that sounds like a chorus of Lucas and my boss and all the townsfolk back home, screams at me, ‘ You know Keldarion. He’d rather debase himself and dance with you than bother to find someone better.’
But there’s a different voice, one that’s louder and stronger, and this one comes from deep within the core of myself. And this one says, ‘Yes to this dance. Yes to all the others. Yes to dancing through the stars, throughout the ages, throughout the realms, throughout every universe. Yes to him forever and ever and ever and ever.’
“You need to find your mate, Kel,” I finally manage. “Dance with someone who you feel a spark—”
“It’s not a spark. It’s an eternal fire that burns from deep within my heart and reaches out to you.” Ferocity flickers in Kel’s gaze. “And every moment I am not touching you, it eats my soul inside out, tearing me apart, until merely looking at you is an anguish I would only wish upon my worst enemy.”
I stare stupidly at him before I burst out laughing. “Just because I called you funny one time doesn’t mean you can make jokes like that now.”
Kel’s fingers dive into my hair, and his other hand lands on my waist. He pulls me close. “Dance with me, Rose.”
Okay, so there’s really going to be no arguing with him. When I manage a nod, his eyes crinkle and he gives me a smile, one so sweet I yearn for all the times I’ve missed it before.
He holds my hand aloft and leads me down the dais and onto the dance floor. I swear, every person in the ballroom turns to stare. It must be quite a sight: the Winter Prince’s first dance in over two decades.
“Everyone’s looking at you,” I whisper.
Keldarion chuckles. “It’s not me they’re looking at.”
My face heats and I stiffen, realizing how much attention I’ve drawn to myself. I must look so ridiculous in this grandiose gown and jewelry.
“Relax,” he murmurs. “You look beautiful.”
As we make our way to the middle of the dance floor, we pass by Farron and his aged companion. His eyes twinkle and his smile jumpstarts my heart.
Nearby, Dayton has an arm around a busty blond fae, but he’s staring at me. He winks and warmth spreads through my body.
And before us, Ezryn stands with his hands limp on a fae woman. He nods, and a sense of peace and comfort ripples over me like sunshine.
Keldarion stops and spins me, before resting one hand on my waist and taking the other in his. “I hope you know how to dance,” he whispers, “because I’m terrible at it.”
The music picks up into a waltz dreamier than any I could imagine from the human world. It’s like the music descends upon me in a breeze that lifts my feet and turns everything else to clouds.
And Keldarion is a liar. He’s not a terrible dancer, not by any stretch of the imagination. He’s extraordinary, leading me through the motions effortlessly.
And I’m lost in the labyrinth of the moment: his long white hair falling over his shoulders, a few strands pulled away from his perfectly carved jawline and cheekbones; the finery of his clothing, so soft I can imagine how it would feel against my bare skin.
His hand fits perfectly around mine, and for this one song, this one dance, there is nothing else.
“You’ve helped me come to an important decision, Rosalina,” Keldarion says. “Having decided, it makes me feel… lighter.”
I tilt my head. Now that he says it, there has been something different about him today. Like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. “What is it?”
“After the ball, when we’re all together, I’ll tell you,” he says lowly. “How do you like the Winter Realm?”
“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” I say. “It suits you.”
“And you.” His eyes drip over my body. “Do you like the dress?”
“Of course. And this necklace! I have no idea where Marigold got it, but—”
Keldarion gives a small smile. “I sent for it. It belonged to my mother.”
“Oh! Oh.” My jaw drops open. “I promise I’ll give it back right after the ball! Right after this dance. And I definitely wasn’t eating truffles and then touching it. Okay, I was, but only a little—”
He laughs richly. “The necklace is yours to keep, Rose. Think of it as a gift.”
“For making you attend a ball?” I snort.
“For waking us up.”
Our bodies press together, closer than the dance entails. Boldness swells in my chest, and I ask, “Am I still your prisoner?”
“Oh, Rosalina, you’re reading my mind now,” he murmurs. “On the contrary. You were never my prisoner, and I was always yours.”
My words are a breath: “What do you mean?”
The music rises and I spin under Kel’s arm. He pulls me close, then dips me low. “You are the cove of which our storm-struck ships moor. The beacon of light in the darkest night leading us home. A candle whose flame flickers against the coldest wind. You’ve given them hope.”
He draws me up and I follow his gaze around the room. Ezryn, Farron, and Dayton. Staring at them, one wish burns brightest against all else.
“I want to break the curse,” I say, falling back into the dance. “I want you all to be able to protect your realms again. Get your true magic and save Castletree from the briars. To have the freedom to be who you truly are.”
“I want that for them too,” Keldarion says.
I stop dancing and put my hands on either side of Kel’s face. His eyes shimmer as he stares down at me. “But Kel… What about you?”
He places his hand over top of mine and leans into the touch. “Time is running out, Rosalina. I’ve lost so much of it to the cold and the dark. For what time I have remaining before the beast takes over… I want to spend it doing all the things I wish I could have more time to do. Finally doing what is right.” He swishes me into the dance again. “And that means I will take no other dance partner but you, my rose.”
No other dance partner but me…
No. No. No, no, no, no, no.
Kel can’t do that. He needs to find his mate. He needs to break the curse. As much as it kills me inside to think of him with someone else… I can’t lose him to the spell. I won’t.
I pull away. “Kel, what are you saying? Stop. You have to try to break the curse. Why won’t you try?”
“Breaking the curse will not bring you the freedom you seek,” he hisses. “Only I can give you that, and I will.”
“No. I help you break the curse and we’ll both be free.”
“Rosalina,” he mumbles, “lower your voice.”
“Kel, try .”
His gaze is intense as he snarls, “I would rather die than have this curse broken.”
“No.” Tears spill down my cheeks and the couples dancing around us have all turned to stare. “You can’t do this, Kel. You’re selfish. You know that? What about your friends? What about the people who… the people who love you?”
“Rosalina.” He reaches for me, but I pull away.
“You’re a selfish bastard!” I cry. “And you always have been. That’s why you’re cursed.”
Before he can stop me, I turn and flee through the ballroom, my tears turning to ice.