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It’s easier to focus with more distance between myself and the overly touchy lord, as this part of the dance allows. The more I ponder Aika’s words, the more certain I am that it was a warning rather than a threat. She didn’t have to tell Einar she suspected him, but she did.
More than that, she delivered a warning against Madame, something I’m not sure she’s ever thought of doing before.
The song comes to an end without either of them saying anything else, and my partner tightens his hold on me like he expects another dance.
“Thank you for the dance, but I’m afraid I’m parched now.”
I spin on my heel and maneuver through the crowded dance floor, but I’m only halfway across when a calloused finger slides along my skin. I consider subtly going for my knife, but a deep voice sounds in my ear, tugging at things low in my abdomen.
“Dance with me,” Einar growls.
It’s more of a demand than a request, and I huff out an irritable breath.
“What will people think?” I half-heartedly argue under my breath, grinning at the courtiers coming to approach my husband, or trying to, though I suspect it looks more like baring my teeth.
“Nothing as bad as they will think if I murder the man who had his hands on you,” he says in a barely audible voice, extending his hand to me.
I raise my eyebrows, even though he can’t see them behind my mask, then take his hand.
The music picks up again, this time with me in his arms. Even with everything unspoken between us, being this close to him makes me feel... easier. Like I can breathe.
“Well, if that’s grounds for murdering, there are quite a few women here who won’t live to see tomorrow,” I respond.
He chuckles, the sound reverberating from his chest to mine. “At least you didn’t let Khijhana eat them.”
“Yet.”
He spins me away from him and brings me back in even closer than before.
I think about his words yesterday.You say that like it’s a fate worse than death.
Lifting my mouth closer to his ear, I allow a small bit of teasing to enter my tone. “This is by no means worse than death.”
He gives me a wry look, and I continue in a more serious vein. “But it could have been. And there would have been nothing I could do.”
He dips his chin, a muscle ticking in his strong jaw. “I understand. And for what it’s worth, I don’t want you to have to choose, but the reality is that there will be times you do. That’s what being a ruler is.”
“That’s what it is, toyou.” I amend his statement for him.
“That’s what it is to everyone,” he continues before I can interrupt, even as I’m glaring at him. “Fortunately for you, this is not one of those times. I agree that we should tell her the truth, sooner than later.”
In typical Einar fashion, that was nothing close to an apology. Then again, these aren’t issues that are going to be resolved in a night, and the middle of a crowded ballroom is hardly the ideal place to discuss them.
I shake my head a little, letting it go. For now.
Einar and I have had no end of arguments in our time together, but this is the first time we’ve danced.
Even Madame can’t take that from me.
