Page 58 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
“I don’t know the steps,” I admitted. “And truthfully, I’m a terrible dancer.”
Veric took my hands gently, leading me to the outskirts of the dance floor. “It’s simple, really,” he said with a warm smile, lowering his voice to count the rhythm for me. “See? One, two, kick. Three, four, hop. We repeat that three times. On the fourth, I’ll lift you.”
A nervous laugh escaped me as heat crept up the back of my neck. The steps looked effortless when performed by the others, but Veric’s instructions seemed anything but simple. “I may step on your toes.”
His grin widened. “I would be honored.”
After a quick burst of nerves, I nodded my head softly, accepting the invitation. Wrapping one hand around my fingers and pressing the other at the small of my back, he pulled me to him. Though not too close, thankfully. We began moving together, awkwardly at first, our steps out of sync with the tempo of the music. But gradually, the routine became more familiar, the rhythm easier to follow. By the fourth repetition, I was moving with confidence—well, mostly.
“You’re doing great!” Veric said, squeezing my waist gently as he lifted me into the air in time with the others.
The rush of air through my hair was exhilarating, and for a moment, I let myself enjoy the dance. I threw my arms up with a laugh, only to lose my balance as the motion threw off my timing. Veric’s hand slipped frommy waist, and I scrambled to grab his shoulders, my feet landing unsteadily back on the ground.
We froze, staring at each other in shock before I burst into a fit of giggles. “I amnotdoing great,” I admitted between laughs.
Veric was slow to gift me with his smile, but before long, his laughter joined mine. “So, minimal dancing at the wedding?”
“Do you think we could do away with dancing entirely?”
His shrug was playful. “You’re the bride, and a Council member at that. If you say no dancing, they’ll have to listen.”
“Perhaps Lady Moore would find the dances of her own nation easier to manage,” a deep voice interjected from behind me.
Too close behind me.
I turned to meet the brilliantly bright golden gaze of Clayton Vail, who, though he spoke to Veric, kept his attention focused solely on me.
“It seems it’s my turn to protest that I don’t know the steps,” Veric laughed, his tone light, though his expression held a flicker of tension.
“I’m not proficient enough to teach you,” I replied quickly, trying to mask the nerves building in my chest. “Besides, we’ll have plenty of time to learn Athenian dances together when we return.”
Veric nodded, his smile returning, but before he could speak further, the band transitioned into a slower, more familiar tune. Clay’s hand wrapped around my elbow before I could stop him.
“Come now, surely you’d like to prove to your fiancé that you’re capable of dancing without injuring him,” Clay said with a smirk, his charisma laced with something sharper, something that didn’t leave room for negotiation. “I’m happy to serve as your partner for this one dance.”
No.
The last thing I needed—or wanted—was to be dancing with Clayton Vail. He was the man who left me flustered with anger and longing, the man who lied to me, the man who expected me to carry on as though nothinghad happened when he showed up unannounced on this trip, seemingly determined to throw me off balance.
I simply could not dance with him. Not when he had a fiancé at home and I had one standing right next to me.
“Prince Vail,” I said, my tone carefully measured. “That’s kind of you, but Veric and I have so little time to get to know one another before our wedding. As I said, he and I will have plenty of time to learn the Athenian dances together.”
Clay didn’t let go of my elbow, even when I gently tugged. Instead, his heated gaze shifted to Veric, his expression tight with unspoken authority.
Veric hesitated, glancing between the two of us, before he nodded and stepped back. “The Prince is right,” he said smoothly, though his smile faltered slightly. “This celebration is as much for you as it is for me. Enjoy the dance—I’ll look forward to hearing about it.”
He pressed a kiss to my knuckles before stepping away, leaving me alone with Clay, whose arm slid easily and far too comfortably around my waist.
“Are you out of your mind?” I hissed under my breath, my irritation boiling over.
“You might say that,” he admitted, golden eyes scanning over my face and lingering on my lips.
“People will talk.”
“They might,” he replied with a shrug, his tone maddeningly casual as he glanced around us. “But you’ll find the Tenebrisian court is far more discreet than ours.”
The room blurred around us as Clay began to move, guiding me effortlessly through the familiar steps of an Athenian dance. My body betrayed me, following his lead as if it had been waiting for this moment.
