Page 77 of A Dance of Lies

Iam furious. At everyone. I ignore the rattle of my bones, the pain shooting fire along my nerves, and throw my fury into my dance.

Wham.

Bounding onto Copelan’s shoulders, I burrow my hands into his hair. He bounces us both. I spring into the air, and once more, he cradles me in his arms before swinging me upright, my chest to his, our breath mingling. I wonder if he tastes my rage.

Wham.

I slide down him, slowly, slowly, his hands supporting me. My fingers find his jaw, his neck. The warm, smooth skin along his chest. I smudge the gold there, my hands coated in it.

His pupils dilate as he dips me into a split.

Wham.

I release him and fall backward, spine curved as I touch the ground. He slides over me, covering me with his body. His heart thunders with the bayan, just like mine.

He props himself on his arms, legs lifted in the air, chin just over mine.

His breath is hot on my lips.

We stare at each other.

Wham.

This dance, it feels feverish. I slide out from underneath him, rising. He rises, too, an eagerness to his stance. I raise my leg, poisedto dart away. He grabs my foot. Uses it to circle me, rotate me, faster,faster,like a hand guiding a wheel while my other foot anchors on the ground.

It’s as if I’m flying.

My curls drift around me as if I’m underwater, millen showering from my hands.

And Anton’s favor comes to life.

A million raindrops made from light shatter across the walls and floor, little echoes of prisms carefully placed before a glow torch. Even from across the room, I manage to catch his smile, alongside Prince Sundar’s.

And Copelan—

He’s smiling, too.

Wham.

We are a torrent of rain and wind, sand and clouds.

I lower my foot as the beat changes pace. Copelan pries his fingers into the ribbon around my waist.

Wham.

He twists me around into the crook of his arm.

I fall back, draping across it.

Wham.

Featherlight, he uses the crook of his finger to skim my collarbone. Then it travels lower, gliding a path down the center of my chest—

Wham.

He whisks me up, hand threaded in my hair. Knotted in it.

Wham.