I pause my steps. “What did you just say?” I ask, turning to face him.
The Scorpion shrugs. “I’ve spoken with Hugo. He’s packing his bags now.” He speaks so casually, as if he’s just taken out a spider rather than fixed the problem that’s given me sleepless nights for two weeks. “You and your sisters won’t need to worry about him bothering you any more. He’ll be gone within the hour.”
Relief washes over me. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I gasp. “My sisters will be so pleased. I have to go and tell them!” Grinning, I charge towards the dance floor, but before I can take my first step, I’m forced back by two strong arms.
“Not so fast, Princess,” the Scorpion commands, his voice vibrating through my back as he holds me against him. “There is still the matter of my payment.”
“Oh,” I laugh. “You know where my bedchamber is. Just take all the jewels you’d like. I already said I’d pay you anything you wanted.”
A soft hum rumbles off his chest. Tugging my shoulders, he twists me around to face him. “Dance with me.”
“What?”
“You said you’d pay me anything I wanted,” he says, slipping his hand around mine, “and I want to dance… so dance with me.”
My heart stutters. It’s already hard enough to focus with the wine blurring my senses, but now, with his skin burning against mine, I can hardly breathe. “Alright,” I accept, barely aware that I’m speaking. “But you have to ask me properly. Introduce yourself and bow, like you’re supposed to when you meet a princess.”
Smirking, he tips his chin. “As my lady commands.”
I watch as he steps back, then confidently stoops into a low bow. “Princess Amaryllis,” he begins, lifting his dark head of hair, “my name is Kasimir Verekov, but please call me Kaz.”
“Kasimir?” I breathe. Is that his real name? Judging by the way he grins as I say it aloud, I can only assume it is.
Clearing his throat, he extends his hand. “Now, may Ipleasehave this dance?”
I tilt my head. For the first time in years, I am not repulsed by the man asking me that question. So, with a genuine smile and a strange new warmth buzzing through me, I slip my hand into his.
“Of course, Sir Verekov. You may.”
I must be dreaming. I’ve never danced like this before. Kaz is surprisingly confident as he parades me in his arms, occasionally twirling me in time to the music.
It’s so strange. This just all feels so different from the way I felt with him in my bedchamber. Back then, he was rough, intense, passionate. But here, there’s still passion – but it’s so… different. Here, he’s kind. Courteous. And, were it not for me catching the odd glint of his daggers concealed beneath his sleeves, I’d assume he was just a perfectly ordinary – yet dangerously handsome – gentleman.
“You’re a good dancer,” I say, letting him lift me into another spin.
“I was raised by more than twenty women,” he chuckles. “So I’ve had more than enough partners to practise with.”
He dips me low to the ground, our lips hovering inches apart as another warmth rushes through me. Maybe it’s just the wine. Then again, I haven’t had a drop in over an hour, and I’m in no rush to fetch another glass.
“Tell me about your family,” I ask as the band transitions into a new song.
Kaz grins. “You mean Lady Carp’s whorehouse? Hardly an appropriate conversation to be having in the king’s golden ballroom, don’t you think?”
A knot forms in my throat. “So you weren’t lying about that?”
“I don’t like liars, Ruby, remember?”
I swallow, trying not to think about that night. But it’s a little difficult with his hand gripping my waist in that same strong way and the scent of leather filling my nose.
“My mother worked at the whorehouse,” he continues, oblivious to my discomfort. “And she raised me there with her, hidden away in the attic while she worked. It wasn’t a bad life.” He rolls his shoulders. “There weren’t many other children so we all had plenty of attention, and they let us roam the streets during the day. They were good times for us.” He smiles in a soft way I haven’t seen before.
“And what about your mother now?” I keep going, even as he lifts me in another spin. “Does she still work for Lady Carp?”
Kaz shakes his head, smile fading. “She died when I was twelve.”
“Oh.” I pause. Without thinking, my hand squeezes his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His smile returns. “I’m just happy I had twelve years with her. Some of the others weren’t so lucky.”
