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Then I saw a handsome fairy approaching with his eyes on her, and I lost what little self-control I had.
Turning to her, I held my hand out.
“One last dance?” I rasped out.
It wouldn’t be our first dance, not exactly. When we were kids, one of her many make-believe games had been, ironically enough, prince and princess. She would insist that I hold her in my hand and spin around the room with her until we were both dizzy.
And, of course, I obliged her, as much an idiot then where she was concerned as I am now.
But it would be our first dance like this, and I both craved that closeness and hated how hard it would be to walk away from.
Her eyes widened, and blue flashed over her skin before she took a deep breath, willing herself back to rose-gold.
“That’s new,” I commented.
“Aster taught me,” she said, still looking at my outstretched hand.
I was about to pull it back to my side when she grabbed it, pulling me to the dance floor before I could rescind my offer. It was bittersweet, having her back in my arms and feeling like she belonged there, when I knew our time together was so short.
We glided around the room wordlessly, her eyes searching my expression for something before she finally spoke.
“Last dance? So you’re leaving now, then?” Her inflection was so careful, almost distant.
“There wasn’t much of a choice to be made,” I said, carefully.
“I’m surprised you haven’t left already.” Her features were closed off, and I tried not to show how much the words stung.
“I left you once without saying goodbye. It wasn’t a mistake I wanted to make again.”
“And yet, that’s what you did this morning.”
I tried to decipher the anger in her tone, when she was the one who had spent the night in bed with me when she was engaged to another man.
“You can’t expect me to stay when you’re marrying someone else,” I said, giving her more honesty than I strictly wanted to.
Her jaw dropped. “Edrich, I—”
The music cut off before she could finish her sentence, and I reluctantly stepped back.
“For what it’s worth, Lina, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
Her lips parted in surprise, but she didn’t correct me. Then Aster was there, tugging my arm.
“My turn,” she practically sang.
My hands went to her waist automatically, hardly even aware of what I was doing, because my attention was caught by the prince sweeping Lina away.
How appropriate.
Aster cleared her throat. “I thought, perhaps, you would prefer not to have that particular conversation in the middle of a bunch of gossiping fairies,” she said under her breath.
“It’s not a conversation I would prefer to have at all, actually.” I still couldn’t look at Aster because Lina was staring intently into Lark’s face, her hand clutching his arm like he was a lifeline.
“But—” she started to respond, and I shook my head.
“My apologies, Princess, but I’m afraid I’ll have to call it a night. I have an early start in the morning.” I finally met her violet eyes to find them equal parts frustrated and sad.
That makes two of us.
