Chapter 29 All’s Fair in Love and War #2
In contrast, the prince’s guards spread out around the room, hands on their diamond saber hilts. They mingled with the crowd, snatching a few words of conversation here and there, picking from the laden tables, but they too remained focused on the prince.
I remained next to Clement, our arms aligned, the tip of my fingers brushing his. Outwardly, he was fixed on Lilyanna and the prince leading the crowd onto the clouded marble dancefloor. But his body hummed, aware and attuned to mine.
I focused on the ceiling. Why were the spirits so still?
Chills pimpled my skin and I shuddered.
“Because they know, my dear.” Siobhan’s voice sounded directly in my ear, her satin fingers kneading the small of my back.
I started, my heart hammering and heat flooding my cheeks.
“You’ve never worn something like this for me.” Her hand circled upon the sheer fabric. “Something you’re not telling me, Tam?”
“Nope.” I dragged my attention from the spirits and turned to her.
My jaw dropped. “What are...” Goddess save me.
A diamond-encrusted chain mail suit clung to every curve.
The spiderweb thin mesh twinkled in the candlelight.
Underneath, only the skimpy outline of shadows covered her breasts and ran across her groin as if the spirits themselves were covering her modesty.
She giggled and bumped me with her hip. “It’s not for you, my dear. At least not tonight.” She waved her hand toward the dancing guests. Many faces were turned her way, a mixture of fear and lust and loathing adorning their expressions. “Although, I could spare one dance for my favorite.”
I gently unwound her arm from my waist, cursing the brief flash of disappointment that chilled me. “I don’t dance. Besides, I’m working.”
She laughed. “Ah, yes. Midnight is fast approaching. There is barely an hour left. Shame, though, that you don’t want to spend your final moments with me after all these years.”
She pouted and damn me if my spine didn’t soften.
“I bet you’d dance with him.” She flicked her head to where Clement stood, arms folded, his attention firmly on me and not the prince anymore.
I shifted to block him from view, hurriedly burying my feelings. “He just...wants my help with something.” I glanced at the thrones and lowered my voice. “In fact, I'm glad you’re here. I have a favor to ask.”
“Tam, Tam, Tam.” She sighed theatrically, throwing her arm across her forehead and raising her voice. “That’s all you want from me lately. Favors. Deals. When will it end?”
I clenched my fists. The queens tensed, their chins cocked, and ears pricked. They knew the conversations worth listening to.
“There’s a woman that I need to free,” I hissed. “His sister.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “She’s in the queens’ jail for treason. I’m going to try and reach her before they return and enact their penance, but if you could protect her for me, I’d owe you.”
“You already owe me, my dear, and there’s only one thing I want from you.” She ran her fingertip up my bare arm. “Besides, you’re already bound to a deal. I wouldn’t want to overburden you.” She hooked her fingertip under my chin, tugging me closer. “Kiss me and I’ll think about it.”
My back spasmed as I clamped down all my muscles. I leaned forward and kissed her with my breath held, not allowing the seductive lily odor to swirl into my mouth and nose.
She flashed me a grin, heading toward the swirling bodies on the dance floor.
Before she slid onto the red marble, she turned back.
“Oh, one last thing. As we’re so close to the deadline and this evening promises to be so very fun, I have invited some close friends of yours a little early.
” My breath snagged in my throat. “It really is about time you caught up. Don’t you think? ”
I continued glaring at her retreating presence long after she was swallowed by the twirling fabric and glitter of jewelry.
My mind whirred. I wasn’t ready to face them.
I didn’t want to know what they would do.
Would they apologize? Maybe dive straight into practiced excuses?
Perhaps they wouldn’t even mention it, proud of transforming all our lives.
Or, if I failed, I’d get to relive their deaths all over again. Moving myself one step closer to Hell in return.
I needed a drink. Or to gorge myself on pastries.
My stomach growled and Clement edged closer, his mouth tipped up into a grin. Goddessdamn him, he was so distracting. As soon as he neared, I didn’t even care about the food. All I wanted was to back him into the wall, disappear into the shadows and lose myself to him.
“Do you think you’ll be able to spare me a dance before midnight?” His fingers stroked the back of my hand, the magic throbbing at his touch.
Midnight! The moon had fully risen, flashes of silvery light strobed the courtyard outside as dense clouds sped past and panic welled in my throat.
Clement nudged me.
“I don’t dance,” I snapped.
“Oh, I’m sure you do,” the prince drawled. He released Lilyanna’s hand, stranding her next to the seated queens. “This may be our last chance of a moment's peace, Tamara. Just you and me. Before our games begin again.”
Clement pressed against me, his heart thudding against my shoulder. Icy tendrils crept between us. They bulged, forcing him away, burning my skin.
“Chop, chop, Tam.” The prince backed toward the dance floor with his hand extended, every eye absorbed in tracking his progress.
“Don’t,” Clement pleaded. He swatted at the air, hissing in pain as his skin crackled. Black raced up his arm, the scent of charred flesh wafting from him.
“It’ll be okay.” I took a step toward the prince, my soul stretching as it tried to cling to Clement. “Do you trust me?”
“I don’t trust anyone.” He gritted his teeth and lunged through the dark barricade. “But I love you.” He barely managed to kiss my cheek before he was flung backward and pinned against the wall by the spirits.
“That’ll have to do then,” I whispered.
My golden slippers made no sound as I stepped onto the dance floor. Clement’s gaze was on my back, pricking the hairs on my neck. It was all I could do not to turn and run to him, burying myself in his arms.
Whispers swarmed through the crowd as they pressed closer to the edges, jostling for a better view. “His maid?” someone asked. “His whore,” another answered.
The magic raged within me. My head swam, body wavering. Sweat laced my palms. I didn’t want to touch him again, to feel his power seed within me.
The string quartet in the corner wafted a few tentative notes across the room. Couples paired up, none coming within feet of us.
The prince bent at the waist in a shallow bow, his gray eyes never leaving mine. His hand remained outstretched. He was going to make me take it, but he wouldn’t break me.
I closed my hand around the prince’s as acid burned in my throat. I needed to see Clement, for him to calm me, remind me, hold me.
The prince’s arm coiled around my waist, dragging me close. He kept my back to Clement and winked over my shoulder, his grin widening before resuming focus on me. I didn’t need to turn to know Clement’s hand would be on his saber, his jaw tight, body poised to charge.
The music swelled. A perfect expanse of red-veined marble hollowed out around us as he forced me forward. I leaned back, my neck outstretched, my mouth tilted away from his rose-scented breath. Up close, even the perfume couldn’t mask the aroma underneath. Rotten.
His arm ratcheted tighter.
I called to my magic, forcing myself to remain confident, to not think about every time it had cowered around him.
It bounded through my bloodstream, gathering pressure with a pounding in my temples.
I focused on my hands, channeling it through my body.
It raced through me, tingling my arms and prickling the nerves of my wrist, but it shied away at the last second.
The prince’s hold on me tightened, numbness spreading through me like a contagion. My foot slipped, my body weakening as my head swam.
A shadow fell over the courtyard through the open doors. As it lifted again, the moon hung central as if hesitating at its mid-point, the Goddess buying me a few seconds of extra time.
Midnight.
This time, I didn’t call to the magic, I summoned it, forcing it away from safety and down through my body. It leaked through my pores, sticky black streaks running down the lines on my palm.
My nails extended, my fingertips burning. The magic rammed against my skin. I was stronger than the spirits, stronger than my magic, stronger than him.
My legs buckled, and I fell into the prince, my chest colliding with his, mouth inches away from his foul breath. I stamped hard on his toe, simultaneously raking my nails down the back of his hand.
He grunted. His hand reflexively tightened on mine to support my weight, dragging me upward and shifting me from his foot.
The magic thundered through me, pressure releasing in a split-second with a gasp flying from my lips.
He didn’t even blink. His eyes remained intent on mine, surprise and even a flash of pleasure crossing his face.
“I told you. I don’t dance.” I wriggled from his hold and smoothed down my dress. Aware that all eyes were on us, all conversation severed.
A solitary drop of blood splashed onto the marble. He hadn’t even noticed.
But the spirits had.