IfeltAbraxasleave my side then and make for the center of the stage.Heapproached the stag, and the animal went wild, death at his side.ButAbraxasraised his hands to the creature's snout and neck and held him despite the stag’s size advantage.Thecreature fought, butIsawAbraxaswhisper in his ear, and stroke his neck, a hand still on his muzzle, letting him adjust to his scent.Slowlythe creature calmed, andAbraxascontinued to stroke him.Oncehis breath had evened, and his motions stopped,Abraxasslid his hand down the chest of the beast.
ThenIheard him whisper, in a voice so quiet maybe no one else had heard, “Thankyou, brother,” as he pushed his hand into the stag’s chest.Thestag didn’t even have time to react beforeAbraxaspulled out his heart, a gush of blood following from it as the creature collapsed dead to the floor.Abraxasheld the heart aloft, blood pumping out of it and running down his arms and over his crown.
“Withyour sacrifice, we are born anew.Letyour blood fertilize our fields and bring new life to theDragonKingdom.”
Thecrowd exploded.Asblood ran down the stage and across the plaza,Ifelt that great surge of energy return.Butit was something greater this time.Asif the life of the crowd met the death of the stag in a great wave, and the resulting collision spread up and over everything.Thewind whipped around us, picking up embers from the bonfires,and seemed to circle around the king and the heart he held.
“MorkaTempeli!”he shouted, and the music resumed at deafening volumes.Peopleacross the plaza danced and screamed with abandon, and the bonfires rose even higher.ButAbraxas’ job was done, and he lowered the heart, passing it to the priest, who placed it with the rest of the stag, where they were dressing the body as he wiped his hands clean.
Hewalked back towards the table, blood still clinging to him, but my mind remained on the great pressure that seemed to leech from the air itself, from the way the fires had come alive, and the whole plaza buzzed like a great beast rising from its slumber.
Ashe sat in the chair next to me,Ilooked at his face, and time slid back, to when he had held another heart.Theblood covering him was almost the same, but now he seemed calm, whereas before, he had been nothing but rage.
“Areyou alright,Princess?”Hehad been staring at me, andIhadn’t even noticed.
“Yes, what did you say, up there?”
Hepressed his lips together, “Itis the language of the old gods.Itmeans, death is the beginning.”Ihad so many more questionsIwanted to ask, but allIcould do was stare at him and try and reconcile these different parts of him in my mind.Thekiller, the benevolent king, the war general, my warden… my savior.Hereached his hand forward and slid it into mine, andIfelt the warmth of a drop of the stag's blood slide between us.
“YourMajesty!Wouldyou honor me with the first dance?”LadyLovatiahad approached us without my notice.Theking immediately dropped my hand, and turned to her, his kingly manners in place.
“Itwould be my pleasure,LadyLovatia.”Hestood and made his way around the table, and she placed her arm in his, and led him off the stage to the plaza, where rings of partygoers now danced in coordinated movements.Islid my thumb over my palm, feeling the blood there, and once again the emptiness my hand felt.
Anotherbody approached me, andIlooked up to seeLordNaluxhad returned. “Honorme with a dance,YourHighness?”Hiseyes still twinkled mischievously, but it seemed whatever malignancy that had been there before was gone.
“Idon’t know the steps,MyLord.”
“Neverstopped me.”Hesmiled again, andIlet the energy of the festivities override my impertinence.Itook another deep sip of wine, then stood, and joined him as he led me off the stage, my own courtly smile plastered on.
Aswe descended from the dais,Isaw that the priests had cut the stag’s skin into long, bloody strips.Theyhad also stripped themselves bare, and were running through the crowd, using the strips as makeshift whips, lashing them at passersby.Iraised my eyebrows, andNaluxlaughed. “Itbrings fertility in the new year.Ablessing!”Helaughed again, butIcould see now that many young ladies were conveniently standing in the path of the priests, backsides outstretched.ButbeforeIcould observe further,Naluxhad whipped me into the circle of dancing at full speed.
Iground my teeth as he tugged on my injured arm, pain radiating from my fingers over my shoulder.Ionce again imagined breaking all his fingers, butIcouldn’t concentrate on that as my feet barely managed to stay underneath me.
“You’reoverthinking it,Princess, just listen to the music.”Istumbled along, but despite my desire to resist,Idid find that letting the beat of the drums lead my body instead of my mind eased the movements, and after a few more beats,Ifound myself moving with him rather than against him.Heswung me round and round, joining the other dancers in a great circle around the closest bonfire.
Withmy feet now under control,Iwas able to observe my surroundings, and quickly my eyes fell onAbraxas, who danced nearby with a new partner.
“Can’tkeep your eyes off of him, can you?NotthatIblame you,”Naluxlaughed, andIfelt my face burning.BeforeIcould open my mouth, he spun me away to a new partner.Hewas a human man, about half a head shorter than me.Hiseyes widened for a moment, but then he led me off in the dance.Heobviously knew what he was doing, and led me well, soIallowed myself to fall into rhythm with him.BeforeIknew it, a smile had blossomed over my lips, and he returned it, as we let the rising crescendo of the music guide us.
Thesongs of the plaza had no beginning and no end, each blending into the next, only the beat of the drum changing tempo to change up the dances.Iwas passed from partner to partner, human and fae alike.Ieven danced with a greatAskadryad, althoughIwas careful not to snap any of her delicate woody fingers in my grip, and she certainly kept us away from the fire.Idanced until my feet ached in my high shoes, andIcouldn’t imagine how the humans seemed to keep up the pace as my heart raced.Ispun, and spun again, and then collided with the solid body of my next partner.Ilooked up into the king’s face.Hewas flushed from the dancing and fires, andIcould see the smallest bead of sweat forming on his brow.Fora moment we paused, facing each other, and then he gripped my hands to lead me.
Iwinced as he moved my bad arm andIsaw his face tighten.Heremoved his hand from my grip and placed it to rest on my waist.Hepulled us in closer together, and my hand came to rest on his upper arm, my injury relaxed.Ilooked up into his eyes.Hesmiled, and it transformed him into the most beautiful sightIhad ever seen, “Holdon,Princess.”
Wedanced and spun untilIfelt our hearts beat in sync.Aswe spun, he wrapped his fingers tighter around my waist, holding me to him, only to release me and let me spin away, our arms outstretched.Buthe would always pull me back in.WhenIoccasionally lost my steps,Iwould crash back into him, but he would just smile and guide me back into the dance.Itfelt natural, and whether it was the wine or the music or the great ecstatic energy that filled the air,Ididn’t care.Ididn’t want our dance to end.
Thesun had nearly set, and the sky was alight with reds and oranges, as if our whole world was captured in a great ember, floating through the darkness of the night sky.Themusic reached a great crescendo, and he lifted my hand, and spun me around and around untilIdidn’t know up from down.Themusic finally ended, andIonce again crashed into him, but his arms embraced me, holding me tight to his chest.Ilooked up again, and our faces were so close,Icould feel his breath ghosting across my face.Themoment held, both of us on the precipice from which we could not turn back.Myheart hammered, andIurged my toes to lift me just a little higher, to close that last space between us.
Buta great horn blared, and the moment shattered.Hereleased me from his grip, andIfell away, the cold night air lashing against my skin.
“It’stime for us to return to the castle,Princess.”Theparty didn’t seem anywhere close to over, andIfelt the bars of my cage closing in around me again.Myshiver had nothing to do with the night air.Theking laced his arm through mine once more, andIdid everythingIcould to settle my breathing as he led me back to his carriage.Again, the people around us nodded and cheered for him, but they seemed much drunker now, andIcould hardly hear any of it over the sound of the music.Istepped into the carriage and as the king closed the door, the sounds of the festival were suddenly shut off, like a candle being extinguished.Ishivered again as we rode back to the castle.
* * *
Whenwe arrivedat the gates,Icould see many other carriages already gathered. “Isthere going to be a ball tonight?”Mydress was filthy, plastered with dirt and spilled wine, and blood clung to the hem.
Ithought about whatIwould wear, when he abruptly said “No.”Ilooked at him puzzled, as our carriage pulled to a stop.
“Youwill be returning to your room and will remain there for the rest of the night.”Morecarriages pulled in around us and nobles spilled out, laughing and falling over each other, clearly not done for the night.IsawLadyLovatiastep out of her carriage, but she was no longer wearing her attire from earlier, but just an elegant night robe.Ilooked back at the king with a frown.
