38. Chapter 38
38
Casimiro
T he crowd jostled to get a look at me, and I hardened my expression, even though my skin burned with pain under my clothes. As I swept into the party, searching for Zara, I spotted her across the room and froze. Every face in the ballroom followed my gaze, and within seconds, the entire room was looking at her.
The crowd parted as I walked toward her, but I never took my eyes from her face. The mortals bowed, but the fae knew I’d likely not survive the night—they didn’t spare me any respectful gestures.
Zara was radiant, and when I flashed her a smile, she lit the room with her own. I walked straight to her, slipped my hand into her curls, and pulled her ear to my lips.
“There you are, little spark,” I whispered. Her quiet exhale made the side of my mouth twist into a grin. “Dance with me.”
Her hand slipped around my elbow, and I led her onto the dance floor, which vacated as we stepped onto it. The fae melted back into the crowd, not wanting to be seen approving of my choice should the king arrive while we danced. Anyone caught offending my father would die tonight, and beneath the ice-thin veneer of celebration was the buzzing tension of fear.
On the dance floor, I settled my palm on her waist and firmly but gently gripped her lifted hand. Her chest rose and fell in rapid breaths, and her smile, while beautiful, was not fully convincing. She was afraid, and I couldn’t very well tell her not to be.
We might not survive tonight. Until an hour ago, I’d not intended to. I’d assumed she would take the chance to leave, to finally have what she’d wanted since I stole her away from her home.
The music began.
But this spark of a woman hadn’t left, and now everything hinged on her wild plan.
She followed my lead like we’d been dancing together for years. Her feet knew the moves before I even suggested them, and her timing was flawless. The searing pain of my curse ebbed from my mind as I watched her and held her tiny frame in my hands. This was what it felt like to be alive.
I released her into a spin across the dance floor and her dress mimicked flames as she whirled. Several of my courtiers cheered, and my heart soared. When she landed again in my arms, her back to my chest for a brief moment, I felt like I truly was on fire.
“I love you,” I breathed as she spun again to face me. Perhaps she hadn’t heard me.
But her eyes were wide and her smile captivating. My body ached to hear her reply, but as she opened her mouth, her words were stolen as a crackle of magic buzzed across the room, silencing all other sounds.
The air beneath the golden arch rippled, and my father stepped into the room.