Chapter 15 #2
Lord Seldare moved in front of me and bowed low. “Princess Corinthe, I would be honored to claim your first dance in Nocta.”
My heart knocked against my ribs. Courtiers stared. Lord Seldare straightened slowly, a challenge in his eyes as he held out his hand. I couldn’t take it. If I did, everyone would know .
Lord Seldare’s smile turned brittle. “Princess?”
“Seldare,” Lorcan said, appearing behind him. He slapped a big hand on the smaller man’s shoulder and moved him aside. Lorcan looked between us, a plate of food in his free hand. “Oh, are you dancing?”
Lord Seldare drew himself up. “We were just about to—”
“I’m afraid not,” Lorcan said. He shoved the plate into Lord Seldare’s chest and then flashed a mocking smile when Seldare clutched at it, almost dropping it.
Capturing my hand, Lorcan drew me past Seldare and onto the dance floor.
“I’m a jealous man, my lord,” Lorcan called as he slid his free hand around my waist. “I’m afraid all the princess’s dances belong to me. ”
My skirts tangled around my legs. Lorcan guided one of my hands to his shoulder. As he raised our joined hands to the side, I spoke through clenched teeth. “I can’t—”
Hush , he said in my head. His eyes shuttered as he spun us around, but I still saw the flashes of black between his lids as his voice flowed through my head again. I know you can’t dance, so let me lead. Your gown will hide any missteps.
He spread his palm over my back, his fingers pressing harder as he maneuvered me in sweeping circles. The ballroom spun past in a whirlwind of windows and light. My skirts fanned wide, the dragonstones flaring with my movements. The acrobats tumbled through the air above us.
Casting a quick look around, I spoke under my breath. “How did you know I can’t dance?”
Lorcan stared at me through half-lidded eyes.
You’ve looked ready to faint since you stepped through the doors.
He squeezed my fingers. A big turn here.
A second later, he gave my hand another squeeze as he spun me in a tight circle.
Good. He lowered his gaze, his thick lashes almost but not quite shielding his eyes.
Keep that pace. One, two, three…One, two, three…
My heart pumped faster as we moved around the ballroom.
His palm splayed over my upper back, Lorcan continued pressing his fingers against my gown.
After a moment, I realized he was giving me cues for the dance.
Lights blurred. The hair at my nape grew damp.
Looking at the crowd made me dizzy, so I looked at Lorcan, my gaze locked with his.
Mama had taught me just about everything, but she never taught me how to dance. It was too dangerous. The heat and proximity. Hearts pumping faster. Blood throbbing just under the skin. Duncan had begged me to accompany him to barn raisings and harvest festivals. He’d loved to dance.
I missed a step, my foot crashing down on Lorcan’s. He grunted and tightened his grip on my hand.
“Sorry!” I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered out loud. “I have nine other toes.”
My face heated. As we made another sweep around the floor, I pitched my voice low. “I thought you couldn’t always speak in my mind.”
“I can’t.” His fingers flexed against my back and he spun me in another fast circle. Unless the right opportunity presents itself.
He meant he’d drained a witch. And he retained the gift he’d stolen, which meant Vander hadn’t siphoned the dead blood. I danced with a burgeoning madman.
“People aren’t opportunities,” I said.
The music ended with a flourish. Lorcan stopped. Around us, breathless couples faced the musicians’ balcony and applauded. Lorcan kept his gaze on mine, his back to the balcony as he spoke in my head.
You have the power to change that, Princess.
Above us, the head musician stood and bowed over his instrument.
The crowd’s cheering was a thunderous backdrop as Lorcan and I faced off.
The challenge he’d issued in the Everless ran through my head.
Will you stop him? Or will you stand aside and let him build an empire on bones and innocent blood?
“Shall we?” he said aloud, offering his arm.
We returned to the pillar, where he plucked two glasses of blood-wine from a passing servant. Lord Seldare stood on the other side of the dance floor, the woman with the fan at his side.
“Please don’t leave,” I blurted as Lorcan pressed a wineglass into my hand. Immediately I longed to snatch back the request. “I mean, you don’t need to bring me food. I’m not hungry.”
Lorcan studied me. “All right.” He faced the ballroom and sipped his wine.
My nerves settled. He was an arrogant, unlikable ass, but at least I knew what to expect. Mostly. And his presence would keep Lord Seldare and the rest of Rasimir’s courtiers away.
With sweat cooling on my skin, I drank my wine and let my gaze wander over the room.
Rasimir remained on his throne, his attention on the acrobats.
Vander maintained his post, his body so still he might have been a statue in the courtyard.
As if he sensed my attention, his silver eyes connected with mine. Beside me, Lorcan tensed.
I looked between them over the rim of my glass.
Did Lorcan speak in Vander’s mind? He’d probably been doing it all along.
If their claims were true, they worked together to undermine Rasimir even as they served in his inner circle.
But their relationship transcended mere alliance.
I could dismiss their argument in front of the maze.
Their interaction in the Everless was different.
They were lovers—or something close to it.
Perhaps I should have been shocked. And I might have been if Mama hadn’t raised me.
But on a handful of times over the years, she’d bundled me up and taken me to quiet cottages in the middle of the night.
On one occasion, a woman had waited nervously while Mama nursed the woman’s female companion through a high fever.
On another, she’d stitched a man’s jaw after a horse tried to take a bite out of his face.
Because you give it sugar cubes , the man’s friend had said, his arms folded tightly as he watched my mother work. The damn creature won’t do anything without a treat now. I told you to be more careful.
The injured man had given Mama a weary smile. I think Hal is just upset about me being a lot uglier now.
With another exasperated sound, Hal crossed to him and stroked his hair. I don’t care about the scar, you idiot. I’m terrified of losing you. Bending low, Hal pressed a soft kiss to the injured man’s lips.
On the walk home, I asked Mama if the men were married like a man and a woman.
Unflappable as always, she stopped me in the middle of the path.
Hal and Sigric aren’t married. The crown doesn’t permit it.
But in their hearts, they’re wed as a man and a man.
Their love is as real and true as any other, and they’re fortunate to have found it.
The next day, she’d mixed a salve to reduce scarring.
Music rose over the crowd’s chatter, pulling me from my memories.
As courtiers surged onto the dance floor once more, I slanted another look between Vander and Lorcan.
Did they share a love like Hal and Sigric’s?
Did they share a bed? It was none of my business—except for two niggling, inconvenient facts: In three months, I had to wed Lorcan. And two days ago, Vander had kissed me.
You’re beautiful. And I’m stupid.
Stupid because his heart belonged to Lorcan? It didn’t matter. Vander’s heart would never belong to me. And mine would never belong to Lorcan, not even in name only. Because I couldn’t marry him. Joining his and Vander’s cause wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t tie myself to a man I didn’t love.
The king watches , Lorcan said in my mind. He waved over a servant and handed the man our wineglasses. Then he spun me onto the dance floor. Blood-wine sloshing in my otherwise empty stomach, I gripped Lorcan’s shoulder as I struggled to make my feet cooperate.
Lorcan gave me a mild look. “Do mind my toes.”
“I’m trying,” I muttered. “The music is different.”
“It’s faster.”
“Well, I hate it.”
Lorcan’s lips twitched. He lowered his gaze as he spoke in my mind. Stop fighting and let me lead.
Easier said than done. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he intended the double meaning. Was that what he wanted? Was that the plan he and Vander spoke of? For me to fall in line while allowing them to use whatever power I managed to discover?
Are you a tool or a blade?
My breath quickened, and not from the dance. Lorcan and Vander claimed the witches weren’t my friends. But so did Rasimir.
Pillars whipped past, flashes of windowpanes between them.
As I settled into the dance, movement at the edge of the crowd caught my eye.
The vampires from the maze stood together, their conservative clothing setting them apart from the courtiers around them.
As Lorcan and I spun past them, they stared with hard, glittering eyes.
Unease spread through me. On the next turn, I looked past Lorcan. The strange vampires followed our progress.
Pay them no mind , Lorcan said in my head. When I looked up, his face was its usual impenetrable mask.
Except for the slightest tension in his jaw.
“Who are they?” I murmured.
He pressed his forefinger against my shoulder blade, alerting me to the next turn. Swallowing a sigh, I stared at his chest and resigned myself to more silence.
My countrymen.
The unexpected answer brought my head up.
The Drachvi. Lorcan was their king—or had been.
But they didn’t look at him like a king.
Their hostility followed us as we made another circuit around the room.
The next time we passed the Drachvi vampires, one of the men turned his back.
The woman beside him followed suit, the gesture deliberate.
Lorcan missed a step.