Chapter 6
The servants removed the body.
So quickly that most of the ballroom never noticed.
Penny might not have noticed either.
If the soldier hadn't.
She missed his smile.
Missed the wink.
Missed the easy warmth that had carried her through the dance.
Since the garden gate, he had always made her feel strangely safe.
Now he danced differently.
More rigid.
More alert.
As though he had remembered he was wearing a uniform.
Another song swelled from the orchestra.
The soldier guided her through the slower dance with practiced ease.
His hand remained steady at her waist.
Strong.
Careful.
Never wandering.
Around them, the ballroom seemed determined to forget.
One couple stopped in the middle of the floor, lost entirely in each other.
Another drifted slowly past, heads bent together as though sharing secrets.
Laughter returned.
Music returned.
Life returned.
As if a dead flower had never existed at all.
Penny looked up at the soldier.
A small, foolish hope stirred inside her.
That perhaps he might smile at her again.
Instead, his gaze remained fixed beyond her shoulder.
Hard.
Unyielding.
Watching something.
Penny followed his line of sight.
And felt her stomach drop.
Upon the raised dais, a beautiful young flower knelt beside the queen's throne.
His white clothing made him look painfully young.
The queen's jeweled hand rested against his hair.
Almost tenderly.
Then she bent her head.
The flower's eyes fluttered closed.
The queen drank.
Not hidden behind curtains.
Not in private.
Openly.
As though daring anyone in the room to object.
The soldier's jaw tightened.
Penny felt it before she saw it.
The anger.
Not at the flower.
Not at the blood.
At her.
The queen slowly lifted her head.
A drop of crimson lingered at the corner of her mouth.
And across the ballroom, her gaze met the soldier's.
The queen smiled.
Small.
Cold.
Victorious.
The soldier's expression hardened.
Then he gave a sharp whistle.
Short.
Piercing.
A command.
Another dancing couple immediately broke away from the crowd.
Penny recognized the soldier at once.
A young officer that had been in the garden in a lovers embrace with a human flower, when Penny had ran.
The flower in his arms looked entirely devoted to him, and still very much alive.
Even as they crossed the ballroom, her hand remained curled around his.
The officer barely spared her a glance.
His focus remained fixed on his commander.
A few hurried words passed between the two soldiers.
Then the younger officer climbed the dais steps and approached the throne.
The king looked annoyed by the interruption.
Only moments earlier he had been watching Penny dance.
Watching her laugh.
Watching her forget to be afraid.
The interruption pulled his attention elsewhere.
The officer spoke quickly.
The king's expression changed.
Annoyance vanished.
Something colder settled into its place.
Slowly, he turned his head toward the queen.
The entire ballroom seemed to notice.
Music continued.
Conversations turned to whispers.
Yet a strange tension spread through the room.
The king spoke.
The words were quiet.
The command beneath them was not.
The queen's blood-stained mouth lifted from her prey and curved into a smile.
She answered him.
The tone sounded affectionate.
The look in her eyes did not.
Then, with obvious reluctance, she released the flower.
The young man swayed immediately.
His knees buckled.
He tumbled down two marble steps before catching himself against the railing.
A collective wince passed through several nearby flowers.
The queen laughed.
The sound carried farther than it should have.
Before the flower could collapse completely, the younger officer reached him.
Strong hands caught him.
Steadied him.
Held him upright.
Servants appeared almost instantly.
As though they had rehearsed this before.
Penny's soldier barked instructions.
The servants hurried the flower away.
The queen watched them go.
Still smiling.
The king did not smile back.
For one brief moment, Penny thought the room had become more dangerous than before.
Not because of the feeding.
Because the king and queen were looking at each other.
Then a new scent drifted through the ballroom.
Impossible to ignore.
A line of servants entered carrying silver trays capped with gleaming domed lids.
The tension eased immediately.
Conversation returned.
Laughter followed.
Even the flowers seemed to brighten.
Dinner had arrived.
Penny's stomach twisted painfully.
She hadn't eaten since the ship.
And even then, she had given her last crust of bread to the seagulls the sea dragon had wanted for his lunch.
The servants arranged the dishes along a long banquet table.
Then, one by one, they lifted the lids.
Steam rolled upward.
The ballroom filled with hungry sighs.
Roasted meat glazed with spices she didn't recognize, sliced into delicate bites and arranged like jewels.
Golden pastries split open to reveal rich gravy bubbling inside.
Crispy strips of breaded meat topped with shaved cheese and fragrant herbs.
Creamy noodles tangled around strips of roasted meat.
Warm bread brushed with honey.
Dark wine glittering with floating fruit.
The display felt strangely familiar.
Penny watched vampires and flowers drift toward the table together.
Smiling. Laughing. Choosing favorites.
Feeding one another bites from their plates.
The circle felt oddly complete.
The flowers fed the vampires.
The vampires fed the flowers.
Everyone consuming.
Everyone consumed.
Her stomach growled.
Loudly.
The soldier glanced down in surprise.
Then something dangerously close to amusement softened his expression.
Penny felt heat rush into her face.
Wonderful.
She was starving in front of the entire royal court.
Carefully, the soldier glanced toward the throne.
The king was still watching her.
Though now part of his attention remained fixed on the queen.
The soldier inclined his head slightly.
A silent question.
The king's smile deepened.
One elegant hand lifted lazily in permission.
The answer was clear.
Feed her.
Without a word, the soldier secured her hand more firmly through his arm and guided her away from the dance floor.
Toward the feast.
Toward the long table where predators and prey dined together.
The soldier picked up a plate and placed it carefully into her hands.
His palm settled lightly against the small of her back as he guided her through the line.
Penny watched the other couples ahead of them.
A vampire woman piled food onto her flower's plate until there was barely room left.
Then promptly took a second plate and began filling that one too.
The flower laughed and kissed her cheek.
The woman looked absurdly pleased with herself.
Behind them stood the dark red-haired girl from the ship.
Relief fluttered through Penny.
She offered a shy smile.
The girl smiled back immediately.
Then the vampire in green velvet draped himself over her shoulder and grinned at Penny.
Hungrily.
Penny nearly jumped.
The soldier noticed.
Without a word, he shifted position.
Stepping between them.
The vampire in green looked entirely unrepentant.
A moment later he stole something from a nearby platter while no one was looking.
Then proudly presented his stolen prize to his flower.
Their laughter followed Penny down the line.
Like a couple sharing a private joke.
Penny's stomach twisted painfully.
Everything smelled wonderful.
Roasted spices.
Fresh bread.
Sweet fruit.
Rich sauces.
The scents wrapped around her like invisible hands.
Every dish seemed designed to tempt.
To seduce.
To make hunger impossible to ignore.
When they finally reached the table, Penny spotted a platter of dark glazed meat.
The slices gleamed beneath the chandeliers.
Each bite was skewered neatly onto silver picks like tiny works of art.
Without thinking, she reached for one.
Her magic screamed.
Penny froze.
The reaction hit so violently that she almost dropped her plate.
The feeling surged through every vein in her body.
Her hand jerked backward.
The ballroom vanished.
For one terrible moment, she was standing beneath the lantern outside her crystal room again.
The old gardener's voice drifted through her memory.
Yes, little flower.
Be frightened.
Flower.
She remembered the petal disappearing onto his tongue.
Remembered the sadness in his eyes.
Remembered the way he had looked at the bouquet.
Then at her.
Flower.
The silver pick trembled in her fingers.
And suddenly Penny wasn't looking at food anymore.
Penny's hand jerked back.
The silver sticks rattled softly against the platter.
The soldier noticed immediately.
His gaze followed hers to the untouched meat.
Something flickered across his face.
Penny looked away.
Quickly. Desperately. Anything but the meat.
Anything but the realization clawing through her chest.
Then she saw the fruit.
A crystal bowl overflowing with impossible colors.
Carefully, she reached for one.
Her magic remained silent.
No warning.
The relief nearly made her dizzy.
Penny filled her plate with every fruit she could reach.
Golden slices.
Purple berries.
Strange silver-dusted crescents.
A quiet laugh escaped the soldier.
Then he reached across the display and added another fruit to her already overflowing plate.
One she had missed.
Penny immediately decided she liked that fruit without even knowing what it was.
The soldier collected two glasses of the fruited wine.
Then guided her through the ballroom and out onto the balcony overlooking the sea.
The air smelled of salt.
Home.
A small collection of tables had already formed outside.
The young officer who had rescued the flower from the queen sat nearby with his companion.
The dark-green vampire and the red-haired girl from the ship claimed another table.
The vampire was already stealing food from her plate.
The girl was pretending to object.
Neither looked convincing.
Laughter drifted between the tables.
For the first time since arriving in the kingdom, Penny found herself seated among people rather than displays.
Around them, flowers and vampires leaned against the railing together.
Pointing toward something in the distance.
Penny followed their gaze.
And lifted her eyes to the sea.
Far beyond the palace walls.
Far beyond the moonlit cliffs.
Something enormous rolled beneath the waves.
A dark, ancient shape.
Familiar to her as her own mother.
The sea dragon.
Relief hit her so suddenly that it hurt.
She abandoned her plate and hurried to the railing.
The song escaped before she could stop it.
Not so much a spell as words magically sent to comfort.
The sort of thing one sang to frightened children and lonely creatures.
Oh hush now, hush, my ancient deep,
stop circling shores and waking sleep.
The monsters came but did not bite,
they danced with me by candlelight.
They kissed my hand, they laced my gown,
they dressed me up and sat me down.
I drank their wine and shared their bread,
and no one left me cold or dead.
So sink your scales beneath the waves,
stop haunting fishermen in caves.
I'm still here.
Still salt.
Still sea.
One more day they haven't swallowed me.
Swim down.
Swim deep.
My stubborn friend.
This story isn't at its end.
And when it is
you'll feel it through the current.
Now go.
Swim away.
The final note drifted out across the water.
Far below, the sea dragon turned.
Then slowly disappeared beneath the waves.
As though obeying her.
Penny smiled.
The soldier did not.
Something in his expression had gone unbearably sad.
As though he had heard a farewell hidden inside the melody.
As though, if vampires could cry, he might have.
The silence behind her stretched.
Long.
Strange.
Penny turned.
The balcony had fallen still.
Musicians stood frozen with instruments in hand.
Dancers lingered beside abandoned tables.
Flowers and vampires alike watched her.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
For a moment, it felt as though the song still hung over the sea.
Then her eyes found the king.
He stood at the ballroom doors.
Watching her.
The look on his face made her stomach tighten.
Pure wonder.
As though she had taken something broken inside him and made it whole again.
As though she were the most precious thing in his kingdom.
Perhaps in his world.
Then Penny's gaze drifted beyond him.
To the throne.
The queen had not risen.
Had not applauded. Had not smiled.
She sat alone in the nearly empty ballroom.
Her fingers dug into the carved arm of her throne.
The queen was still watching her.
Not the king.
Her.
The dragon had vanished beneath the waves.
The sea had obeyed.
And for the first time since arriving in the kingdom,
Penny wondered if she had just sent her only chance of escape swimming away into the dark.
The queen smiled.
As though she knew it too.