“Men?” Victor answered, not taking his eyes off Frid who was laughing as she pulled Sol to the side to avoid bumping into another couple.
“Not really. Why?”
“No reason.” Victor picked up his glass and emptied it in one motion.
“Do you like Frid?” I asked.
“What?” Victor’s eyes peered into mine.
“Do you like Frid?”
“Why would you . . .What makes you think . . .?”
“This is the first time I have seen you speechless.” I placed my fingers on my chilled glass.
“Is it that obvious?” Victor let go of a long sigh.
“Yes.” I nearly smiled watching him messing up his hair absentmindedly.
Victor was silent, staring at Frid and Sol with the look of a predator who was stalking his prey.
“You should ask her for a dance,” I said.
“She won’t agree. She only sees me as a friend.”
“Try and ask her. Otherwise, you’ll never know.”
When Frid and Sol came back to the table, Frid’s cheeks were flushed, she was clearly enjoying herself.
Almost right away, a young girl with a flower braided in her hair approached Sol and asked him for the next dance. Only the three of us remained at the table.
“You probably want to dance a little more?” I asked Frid while pulling a flower from one of the vases.
“I don’t know, I guess.” Frid gave me a confused look.
“Victor wanted to dance, but I had too much wine,” I said, catching the surprised expression on Victor’s face.
“Is that so?” Frid turned to him.
Without saying anything, Victor stood up offering Frid his hand. I could not hide my smile when I saw his wide eyes and the blush on his usually pale cheeks. Frid stood up, letting him lead her to the dancing couples.
I sighed and looked down to the delicate petals of the flower in my hand.
“Is this seat taken?” A soft voice broke my stupor, and I looked up.
My heart ached with dread and disappointment. Denis was standing in front of me wearing his brown flying suit. His eyes landed on the flower I held in my hand and the corners of his mouth lifted up.
“No, it is not taken,” I said.
“The winter solstice is my favorite time of the year. The land finally loses its warmth after the hot summer, and the real cold months are still ahead. The weather is not too extreme and there’s little rain.” He took the flower from my hand in one gentle motion and asked, “I suppose you already heard about the annual Dreich?”
“What’s that?”
“The annual weapon bearing competition. We have many others, but this one is a long tradition for the clan.”
His eyes were soft, and I tried hard to match his expression.
“Why are you alone?” Denis asked.
