“Is that so? Then tell me,Isiah, what else do I want if you can read me so well?”
I give her my best wicked smile. “I would, but those wants shouldn’t be said aloud in public,especiallynot at a royal ball where ears are everywhere. Your dirty mind surprises me, Grace. I’m surprisedandintrigued.”
I get the response I hoped for. She glows the loveliest shade of red, but then squares her shoulders and looks up at me brazenly. “Well, if you see that and we are still standing here instead of somewhere more private, that seems more pity for you.” She gives her own wicked grin, and I blanch, at a complete loss for words. Her laugh resonates in my mind as we spin around another couple. I’d forgotten we were even dancing. “Seems I have the exceptional ability to leave you speechless. A talent I’m sure many would thank me for.”
Her sharp tongue has my full attention. “Yes, you leave me speechless, but not for the reasons you may think.” I extend my arm, spinning her around twice before pulling her back in, close enough to feel her breath’s subtle rise and fall.
She opens her mouth but then closes it, biting her lip. She meets my stare and, with a strained voice, asks, “Do you feel it when our skin touches? Like little sparks? Or am I losing it?” She hurries and continues speaking before I can respond. “Maybe it’s my new magic and the fact I don’t know what I’m doing yet. That’s probably it.” By the time she’s finished talking, her words are barely a whisper.
“It’s not just you. I feel it too, like right here.” Small zaps pass between our palms as I shake our joined hands, and her eyes widen. “And I felt it this morning when I looked out my window and saw you sitting in the courtyard. It was like I was being pulled toward you, like I needed to meet you right then and there. And now that I’m here, so close to you… you are the most beautiful being I have ever seen.”
We stare at each other, and I watch the gold pulse in her eyes, swirling with the blue and green like an endless molten sea.
She doesn’t respond, and I’m afraid I said too much, but then she murmurs, “As I burned on the dais, I couldn’t see anything besides the fire and breathe in its agony. But then I saw you clearly through the haze. I didn’t know who you were, but Iknewyou. I know that doesn’t make sense, but what’s too farfetched at this point?”
Out of words, I hold her close and spin us around before dipping her. As her head falls back, the corner of her mouth pulls up into a smile.
Stars above, she is exquisite.
As her body rises, my lips brush across her neck, trailing goose bumps in their wake. She meets my gaze, and it takes all my willpower not to pull her mouth to mine to see how she tastes. But I don’t dare do that with Niethal’s eyes likely boring into us. Our breathing is uneven, and I swear heat radiates off her.
She sighs and takes a step back. “I wouldn’t want to light you on fire accidentally.” She grimaces. “I don’t think your guards would appreciate it.”
Not giving an inch, I pull her back into my arms, pressing our bodies firmly together, and whisper in her ear, “I could imagine far worse ways to go. I think I’m willing to risk it.”
The orchestra continues, blending one song into the next, and I lose myself in the warmth of her body my arms. We spin around other couples, and if they are staring, I don’t notice. My world narrows to the rhythm of the music and the pull of the woman before me. Heat warms our joined hands, and Grace’s eyes, swirling with gold, widen.
“I’m not afraid of your magic,” I say. “It’ll take time to learn to control it. Most fae come into their magic during the first decade of life, so I can’t imagine how different it will be as an adult.”
“Well, it seems emotions bring mine to the surface. I need to be careful until I can control it.” Her shoulders sag, and I squeeze her hand.
“Your magic is a part of you; it always has been. You just didn’t know it was there. Try not to think of it as a separate entity you need to master. I could teach you how I use mine.”
So long as I see her after tonight, I would teach her anything.
“I’m not sure Niethal would like that, especially not after you interrupted our dance. I don’t know what’s between you and him, but neither of you is subtle in your disdain of the other. But I am curious. What is your magic?”
“I could not care less what Niethal likes. He isn’t the male you believe him to be,” I say as we sidestep around another couple. “As for my magic, agree to train with me, and I’ll show you.”
She is quiet long enough that doubt creeps in, and when she answers, it’s not the response I was expecting. “Whatever this is between us, I can’t deny that I feel it. But I’m here, in Niethal’s castle, as hisguest. I don’t think he will like it if I wander off, nor do I want to right now. We’re waiting for another crossing so I can go home. One should come any time now, and I wouldn’t want to be away and miss it.”
When she finishes speaking, I stare at her blankly. “Did he tell you that you had towaitfor a crossing to appear?”
“Yes, why? What is it? Why do you look angry?”
Thebastardlied to prevent her from leaving. She is more correct than she knows. He won’t let her walk away from him.
“Grace, were you alone the day you came through the crossing?” I ask, trying to make her see the truth for herself.
“Yes, I crossed alone, but once I came into Selen, two of Niethal’s guards found me in the woods. Not in the friendliest of ways.”
“What happened when the two males found you?”
“Well, the first one shot me with an arrow.”
I stop dancing mid-step.
Her eyebrows draw together. “Are you okay?”