Only this time both of us would be clearheaded.
He came into the hallway and told everyone good evening, but his gaze was on me the entire time.
We all started to walk toward the dining hall.
“I can’t believe how quickly this came together,” Ahyana said. She was almost skipping her way down the stairs and it made me think that Rokh must have returned from his secret mission.
“Erisa does move quickly,” Xander said. “She has made sure she’s getting all the credit for this celebration while spending my money on it.”
“She wants everyone in Troas to think she’s a good mother and cares for the princes of Ilion,” Io muttered. “While in reality, if she could unhinge her jaw, she would probably swallow her offspring whole.”
Xander walked alongside me. The backs of his fingers kept brushing against mine. There was no pattern—I never knew if his skin would touch mine from one moment to the next and waited in breathless anticipation for each time it did. Every single brush sent shivers up my arm.
When we arrived at the dining hall, the party was in full swing. It seemed very much like the party we’d had to celebrate Xander’s birthday a few days ago.
“We should all separate and find an archon to speak to,” Io said. “We still need to get Xander named king.”
She put her hand on my arm, as if she intended to take me with her.
Xander stepped in between us. I shivered at the heated promise in his eyes. “Not yet. Right now, I am going to dance with my wife.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Xander took me by the hand and led me to where the others were dancing.
The people around us wanted to greet him and wish him a good birthday, again. While he acknowledged everyone who spoke to him, he only had eyes for me, and it was exhilarating.
When we came to a stop, I said, “I don’t remember you saying, ‘Lia, will youpleasecome and dance with me?’”
“I don’t have to ask because you are the one who promised to be obedient in our wedding contract.”
“Why did you say yes to everything I asked of you then?” It was something I had wondered about. Io had thought it was because her brother was such a reasonable person, something I still disagreed with.
“Because it wasn’t very much, and I knew that I would be requiring something a great deal more difficult in return. Pretending to be affectionate with someone you hate isn’t easy,” he said.
“You should know.”
He paused before he finally answered, “Yes, I do know, wife.”
I quickly glanced around and saw that all eyes were on us. I leaned in so that only he would hear me. “I don’t know Ilionian dances. We don’t dance like this in Locris. I don’t want them all laughing at me.”
“They will think it’s endearing that your dashing, charming husband is teaching you because of how much he cares about you.” He reached for my hand. “Only look at me,” he said. As if I weren’t already. He explained that there were collective circle dances done by all the dancers holding hands, line dances with specific steps, and then partner dances, like the one we were doing now.
“It’s called the Ballos. It’s an upbeat and celebratory dance meant to mimic a marriage. Attraction, flirtation, courtship, pursuit, refusal, and then it ends in surrender.” He showed me the four small, basic steps and how we would move around one another. Sometimes he would twirl me in place.
“And like marriage,” he said, “there is an intimacy and a vulnerability in not knowing the steps but figuring them out together.”
The tiny bumps on my skin multiplied. Did he know the effect his words had on me?
“Eyes up,” he said. “Don’t watch your feet. Heavy eye contact is an important part of this dance.”
I looked around at the other couples and he was right. Instead of watching us, they were gazing into one another’s eyes. But staring into Xander’s beautiful eyes ... I didn’t know if I was strong enough to endure it.
“Or if that doesn’t work for you, think of dancing being like fighting. It’s about footwork and paying attention to your opponent.”
The longer we danced, the easier it became. “Do you have any other analogies for what dancing is like?”
“Only one more ...” he said as his hand went around my waist to bring me closer to him. “An activity that has two people focused on each other, touching constantly, moving their bodies in harmony ... but it wouldn’t be appropriate to mention in a public place like this one.”
