Page 8 of The Shadows Between Us
Another grin stretches across the king’s lips, and I can’t help but admire how much more handsome he becomes with the movement.
“Dance with me,” he says.
Father goes so still, one would think he’d been turned to stone.
“Is that an order or a request? I’m told you hang girls who get too close to you.”
“Not hang. Those girls are asked to leave the party. So long as you mind your distance, I will not have you dismissed as well.”
Still, I’m not ready to concede just yet. “Is there any fun in a dance when you can’t touch your partner?”
“Accept my invitation and you will find out.”
CHAPTER
3
The dance floor clears until it is only the king and me. The orchestra strikes up a new song, one that only we can share.
Keeping his eyes on mine, the king advances a step, and I move backward with the motion, following his lead. This style of dance is more improvised, rather than having a set choreography to adhere to, and I can’t help but wonder if the king is somehow testing me with it, seeing if I can keep up. When he steps to the side, I mirror him. He keeps his arms crossed behind his back, but dancing is not meant to be so stiff, so I let mine move with me.
At first, it’s difficult not to become distracted by the tendrils of black dancing around him. The shadows are so unusual, so fascinating. I wonder what would happen if I reached out to one. Would it curl around my finger? Dissipate at the touch of my skin? Feel as though I’d plunged into a fog?
I remember myself when the Shadow King holds an arm out to me. I know I’m not meant to take it, so instead I twirl for him, letting my overskirt lift off the floor to show more of the tight-fitted pants beneath. I close my eyes and feel the motion more deeply.
The tempo picks up and so do the king’s movements. I seem tosense his actions rather than watch for them. The dance turns exhilarating and frantic, almost as if there’s something desperate in the music itself. As the song grows faster and faster and the king’s eyes burrow into mine, I can’t help but feel as though he’s trying to communicate something to me through dancing alone.
I see nothing but those green eyes, feel nothing but the floor against my feet. I lose all sense of time and purpose.
When the music comes to a crushing halt, I dip my head backward as the Shadow King lets one gloved hand tilt toward me in the imitation of a caress.
I’m breathing heavily while staring up into two swirls of emerald green. We right ourselves seconds later.
When the king finally looks away from me, he raises his voice for all to hear. “That’s enough revelry for one night.”
And without another word, the king turns on one heel and stalks from the room, grabbing his sword on the way out.
I’m staring at the spot where he disappeared in stunned silence.
In the next instant, servants dressed in silly wigs usher everyone from the room. Father takes my arm, and I silently follow his lead.
What just happened?
I thought the dance was perfect. I didn’t touch him. I didn’t get too close.
The king, who has never publicly danced with anyone since his coronation, askedmeto dance.
And then he left without another word.
Men do not dismiss me. No one has since Hektor. I feel my nostrils flare and my face heat up.
“It was a valiant attempt,” Father says as he hands me up into the carriage. “Devils know you achieved more than any other woman has. Not only did His Majesty bother to look at you, he asked for a dance. He will remember you. This isn’t necessarily over.”
The carriage moves slowly, halting and rolling in small increments as the traffic backs up from all the other people leaving the palace.
“Just a moment!” a voice calls out. The carriage comes to another jerking stop.
The head of a man appears in the open window of the carriage. A palace servant, by the way he’s dressed.
