Essos looks at Galen and smiles. The smiles I’ve seen from Essos usually make his eyes brighten and his whole face soften, but now he looks plastic and perfunctory.
“It’s a surprise I’m sure everyone will enjoy,” he says, and turns his attention back to Cat. Still, I catch a small tick in his jaw, as if he’s clenching his teeth.
Galen calls out to Essos again. “Brother! Doesn’t Daphne look smashing in the dress I chose for her tonight?”
Every muscle in Essos’s face tenses, causing my stomach to clench uncomfortably. I put that look on his face by wearing this dress. He reaches out and touches Cat’s arm apologetically before turning to his brother.“She does. You missed your calling as a stylist to the stars. Daphne, will you do me the honor of the first dance?” Essos says easily.
I expect Cat to look hurt, but instead, she smirks, watching Galen.
Galen looks like he’s about to blow up but then seems to remember that he’s playing chess and needs to be cooler than that. It dawns on me that I’m a pawn in this game between brothers.
My eyes narrow. “I would love to, so long asFinnisn’t too hurt by it.” Finn waves his hand and I grab it, willing him telepathically to say no to giving up the first dance with me. I’ve come to take solace in my moments with him. Telling him about my day helps me relax.
“Not a problem at all. I would love to catch up with Galen, anyway. It’s been too long,pal,” Finn says.
I stomp on his foot in retaliation for being unable to read my mind. The tension between the three males is so thick I’m surprised I don’t see sparks flying. I consider locking them in a room so they can get it out of their systems.
“I think that soundsswell, Phineas,” Galen replies.
Things calm down as we wait for dinner to be served. Usually, the servers work their way around the table, but this time, they all take their places behind us, plates with covers in hand. In one synchronized motion, they place the plates in front of us and remove the covers all at once, revealing mac and cheese and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, to my endless amusement.
Everyone else seems confused. After all the fine dining we’ve had, from stuffed Chilean sea bass to prime rib and artisanal salads, this is such a departure that even Galen is at a loss for words.
Essos stands then, opening his arms to us all. “Bon appétit!”
Once the words are spoken, I shove a forkful of mac and cheese into my mouth in possibly the most undignified way I can. The mac and cheese is elevated and most definitely not from a box with powdered mix. The thick cheese and pasta goodness takes me back to my childhood, and I almost want to cry from the thought of my grandmother and all that I missed out on. Instead, I catch Essos’s eye and mouth my gratitude across the table.
Once dinner is cleared, Essos approachesme and guides me out of the dining room, as he should have done for Cat. I shoot her an apologetic look as we pass, and she gives me a little head shake, motioning me forward. I take Essos’s hand, and we move into the ballroom, where the string quartet is already playing. I could pretend that getting used to this is impossible, but then I would be a liar, and my nose would grow.
Once Essos and I reach the center of the dance floor, we begin to sway. My dancing has improved over the past month, even if Finn remarks that now he’s icing his feet for only 30 minutes afterward instead of the hour he needed when we first became partners.
I look at Essos. His face is tense. I lean closer to him. “Please relax. You’re going to step on my toes, and I think my feet have had enough at this point.” Essos glances down at me, and the tension drains from his posture. I feel him relax into my arms, and I smile.
“I’m sorry about this dance—about making you a pawn in this stupid game with my brother. You deserve better. I shouldn’t have done it. He gets under my skin like no one else.” His hand slides down to the small of my back, our box step unparalleled in its smoothness.
“To be fair, he made me the pawn first. What happened between you two?” I ask, hoping to get some answers from Essos for once.
“That doesn’t mean that I should stoop to his level. What happened is what always happens—we’re brothers who were raised differently. He was the golden child who could have anything he wanted, until I got something he couldn’t have. Our parents were overindulgent, so it caused a rift.” I snicker at this as he spins me, the folds of my dress billowing, before he pulls me tight against him once more. Our noses touch, gently. Once I would have expected him to kiss me then, but I’ve learned that I’m going to be waiting forever to feel his lips on mine. He pulls away, looking as if he’s shaking cobwebs from his mind.
“It’s hard to imagine the King of the Underworld fighting with his brother and being put in time out.”
He smiles at me. “I wish it were more like that, but it is literally centuries of fighting. It’s like all those old wars that go on for so long, no one even remembers why they’re fighting anymore.” The look on his face tells me he knows exactly why he and Galen are fighting. For once, I decide not to press him as the song comes to an end. “If you’ll excuse me, I owe Catalina an apology and a dance.” With a bow, he sweeps off to find my best friend.
Behind me, someone clears their throat. When I turn around, I’m not surprised to find Galen standing with his hand outstretched.
“You asked me not to touch you without your permission. May I please have this dance?” he asks, with the look of a hopeful puppy. My annoyance is forgotten at his pleading look. I have mercy on him, sliding my hand into his—
—the sky above me is clear enough that I can make out various constellations above me, but I’m hardly able to focus on the bright lights through the haze of lust. Galen is kissing down my body before he plants his face between my legs, his tongue stroking my—
—I’m shaking my head, breaking the moment.
Galen has his arms around me and is whispering my name. This time, I don’t play coy.
“What wasthat?” I ask firmly, flushed and frustrated by the sensations coursing through me. It’s a confusing narrative, like waves crashing against an aging shoreline, eroding the cliff. These visions I keep having of Galen are wearing away at the fragile foundation I’ve started to build with Essos. Sybil warned me that mentioning dreams of Essos could lead to me getting dismissed, but seeing Galen isn’t the same as seeing Essos. I don’t see how the consequences could be the same, since there is no advantage to seeing Galen.
“You saw something,” he states, his tone neutral. He never stops dancing; instead, he holds eye contact. My steps become jumbled, confused, and I step on him more than once, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he pushes forward.
“Yes. Now explain it. You clearly know what’s going on.”