“KingRenwell,” he said, pulling off his mask. “I brought you a surprise.”
Feeling strangely guilty, I tugged off my mask. “Hello, Melaena.”
Chapter 58
Kiera
Melaena’s face slackened,then crumpled. With a muffled sob, she rushed toward me, her arms outstretched.
Relief pounded through my aching body as I happily embraced her. Her gold earrings tickled my cheek, and her long, curly black hair enveloped us both.
“I was so worried,” she whispered. “Everything... the explosions. Everyone was gone.”
“It’s all right, Melaena,” I murmured. “Please.”Please stop talking. Please don’t ask questions. Not here.
She seemed to remember who was standing at my shoulder and hastily backed away from me. She glanced between me and Renwell. “Can Kiera come back and say hello to the other dancers?”
Renwell pressed his lips together. “No. They can greet her out here if they wish.”
Melaena’s eyebrows drew together as if she were putting the pieces together. Renwell didn’t trust me, nor I him.
But I might not get another chance.
Thinking quickly, I smiled at her. “You’re doing a show tonight, yes?”
She nodded. “The Ballad of the Lotus Wars.”
“Holy Four, that’s my favorite poem!” I turned my smile on Renwell and brushed my fingers over his forearm. “Would you mind if I danced with them? I... I’ve missed it these last few months. It would mean the world to me if I could do it again. One last time.”
His eyes flicked to where my fingers still touched his arm. His jaw tightened, but he didn’t remove my hand. Instead, he addressed Melaena. “Are all the dancers back there?”
“Of course,” Melaena said.
Tension rippled through Renwell, and just when I thought he’d refuse, he jerked his head in a nod at me. “You may go. I’ll watch from the front row.”
I grinned, tightening my grip on him for a moment. Then, deciding it could only help my cause, I leaned forward and whispered, “Thank you. And thank you for saving my life.”
Some of the tension melted from his face. He didn’t smile, but his eyes softened in the way I remembered whenever I conquered a new skill or beat him at Death and Four.
“You’re welcome.”
I released him and grasped Melaena’s hand as we darted into the dressing room.
She closed the door and leaned against it, her chest heaving. “By the Four, I thought he was here to haul me off to the executioner’s stand, after all.”
I winced, trying to ignore the stares of the other dancers. I opened my mouth to speak, but she shook her head the slightest bit, glancing at the bouquet of beautiful women.
Right. Ruru had said she didn’t trust them all anymore.
Melaena clapped her hands, fluttering to the middle of the room. The women stopped applying makeup and jewelry and focused on her.
“Olivia, you’ll be joining the divine group. Kiera will take your place as a background dancer. Since it will take her amoment to get changed, please perform the opening dance from Arduen’s Night for our guests.”
A memory echoed in the back of my mind, of Melaena inducting me into her dancers for another performance. But this really would be the last time.
Melaena herded her dancers out the door. A few tried to argue, but she insisted that they not let the “king” get bored waiting.
I noted Jayde glaring at me as she left. Tullia gave me a cautious wave that I returned. The two women hadn’t been my friends exactly. They had no idea who I was. And to turn up dressed as a Wolf wasn’t likely to win me any allies.
