He gave Lekyi an exaggerated once-over. “Crutches just scream ‘I overestimated the blast radius.’ Trust me—I know from experience.”
Lekyi smirked, adjusting his grip on one of the crutches. “Well, if charm were measured in modesty, you'd be the loneliest man alive.”
“Oh, I’m not modest,” Nic said, flipping his hair with mock pride. “I’m just very, very accomplished at being adored.”
As Nic and Lekyi continued boasting and teasing, Collin noticed one of the dancers staring at him. It was Stella. Her long, fiery red ringlets framed her dazzling expression, and her sharp emerald eyes locked on him.
A ripple of unpleasant heat swept through him. He quickly looked away. Stella’s pursuit of him had become bolder in recent weeks. He didn’t dare reject her too directly, but he was running out of excuses to avoid her invitations.
Niall nodded toward Stella. “Who is she, and why is she smiling at you instead of me?”
Collin snorted, feigning innocence. “No idea, but she’s definitely not my type.”
“Beautiful isn’t your type?” Niall challenged, but just then, the music began and the crowd erupted in cheers.
The young women moved with grace and fluid sensuality. Their long skirts twisted and spun around their bodies like autumn leaves dancing on the wind. The bells on their wrists chimed sweetly as they moved in perfect harmony. The wooden and string instruments accompanied them flawlessly, and beneath the melody lingered the faint rushing echo of a river. They held their audience captive with their elegant choreography. In that moment, the Daughters of Venus were the center of the universe.
Collin was watching the dancers, but not really seeing them. The only face in his mind belonged to Dragonfly. She had once been a Daughter of Venus, though her time had been brief. Even so, he’d seen her practice in the glass hall, and she had been breathtaking.
He made himself stay near the clock tower, though every part of him ached to wander the fair in search of her. A quiet urgency thrummed in his chest, sharp and electric. Dragonfly was likely helping Arion and his father with the livestock—but it didn’tmatter where she was. The thought of seeing her again left him almost breathless.
For days, he’d been distracted—fumbling tools, forgetting errands, lying awake long after the house had gone still. He missed her. Not just her presence, but her voice, her way of looking at him when no one else was watching.
The sting of her sudden departure had dulled with time, but the need to speak—to finally say what he hadn’t before—burned brighter than ever. If she only knew the truth, if he could just get the words out, she wouldn’t have to be afraid of her own heart.
When the dancing ended, Collin clapped along with the rest of the crowd.
“My girl is absolutely exquisite,” Nic exclaimed, cheering earnestly for Helen.
“I will gladly take full credit for your happy union,” Lekyi bellowed over the noise. “Please express your gratitude with gifts!”
“I love when she moves like that. She’s so—” Nic hollered as he clapped with unrestrained enthusiasm. He whistled sharply, the sound echoing around the square and jolting Collin back to the present.
The dancers filed away, though the musicians remained in the square. The crowd gradually began to break apart.
Nic waved his friends goodbye as he shoved his way through the throng, no doubt in search of Helen. Lekyi motioned for Uriah and the twins to follow, promising to introduce them to a few of the Daughters of Venus. They urged Collin to join them, but he shook his head. “No, Aries and I need to find Arion,” he said, waving them off.
“So”—Aries tugged a list from his pocket—“where should we go? Hadria asked me to find all this stuff—first on the list is...”
Collin glanced at the list. “I think I saw the apothecary near the—” He scanned the square, searching for the booth with the purple tent.
But instead of the apothecary, he spotted Arion looking lost in the crowd. He waved his arm overhead. “Arion! Over here!”
Arion pushed through the throng, his hands full—a fat red hen tucked under one arm, an envelope in the other, and a bulging satchel slung over his shoulder. “I couldn’t find you lot, but I did catch the end of the dancing.”
“Good to see you,” River said, eyeing the hen as the hen eyed him back.
“How was the trip over the pass?” Collin asked, his eyes already flicking past Arion, searching the crowd. Was she here?
“Not too bad. One of the animals gave us trouble, but we managed.” Arion shoved an envelope into Aries’s hands. “Can you give this to Hadria?”
Still no sign of her.
Collin turned slowly, scanning the fairgrounds again—rows of tents, crowds shifting, banners fluttering in the breeze—but she wasn’t there. There were too many rings, too many places she could be. He needed to find her. Not later. Now.
He nudged Arion, trying to pull his attention away from the lively debate he’d already started with River over the hen’s quality.
“What are you showing today?” Collin cut in.
