Page 23 of The Dark Prince
He crowned my wife with a smile, giggling and clapping his hands.
Isadora turned back to me, her cheeks flushed with pleasure and heat. The flowers in her hair made her look like a goddess of spring, coming to tempt me.
“What do you think?” she asked, twirling in her new dress.
My mouth went dry.
I flinched as a small hand grabbed my own and pulled. A little girl with hair dark like mine stared back at me, a crown of berries and red snowflowers in her free hand. “Down!” she demanded loudly, and I was on my knees before I realized I had moved.
What was it with me and a bossy woman?
The little girl stomped her foot, and I bowed my head low enough that she could place the crown on my head, albeit lopsided. As I straightened, she laughed with pleasure and pulled at my hand again.
“Dance! Dance!”
My mouth opened to deny her, then I felt someone watching me. I tilted my head and noticed Isadora watching me carefully out of the corner of her eyes.
I turned my attention back to the little girl.
“I am honored.”
I carefully took her hands and she giggled as my scarred fingers wrapped around her tiny ones.
“What happened?” she asked seriously, her eyes wide and her voice hushed.
I cringed. This was what I had been afraid of. Now I would tell her the truth, and she would pull away in fear and disgust.
“A great … beast,” I admitted, shame welling in my chest.
The girl nodded solemnly, then laid a kiss on both hands. Her small palm landed firmly on my mask. “Boo-boo here too?” she asked innocently.
I swallowed heavily, feeling my eyes get hot and bothered. “Yes,” I confirmed. “He got me there too.”
She kissed the cold surface of my mask and patted it, backing away with a smile. “All better!” she proclaimed, taking each of my hands in hers.
“Now dance! Dance!”
I stood, unsure what to do as she twirled around me. I moved my arms with hers, then lifted her up in the air and spun her around as she shrieked with joy. A smile came to my lips, unbidden.
I turned my head and caught Isadora smiling back, and a strange warmth filled my chest. She laughed loudly as the little boy insisted he dance properly with her, but he was too short. Isadora picked me up and whirled around the floor with him.
I picked up the little girl and separately we spun around with our charges. The little ones shrieked with joy and danced around our legs, demanding a turn. We danced with every child who came, suddenly the most popular attraction in town.
Around and around I went until I turned and my back hit Isadora’s. We spun to face each other, letting go of our charges.
“Children! Time for bed!” Asha called out, eliciting many groans and moans. The children swept away from us, leaving Isadora and I standing face to face.
“Dance with me?” She asked, her voice breathless. Her eyes met mine with no fear about being near a murderer—simply with the fear of a woman unsure if a man would reject her.
I could deny her nothing. This woman who looked at me and saw me, not the mask, not the scars, not the infamous reputation. She simply saw me. Even if it wasn’t truly me, and only the hero she’d constructed in her head. I would take it for now. For now, it was enough.
“Yes,” I breathed against her, taking one hand in mine, then slipping the other around her waist. Isadora melted into me, yawning and resting her head against my shoulder as her eyes drifted closed. We swayed gently in place as I fought the urge to disrupt the moment.
She was exhausted and needed sleep.
She was likely traumatized from the battle.
She only put up with me because she saw me as a false savior.
