His brows raised. “A dance?” he repeated. “I hope the scribes have their quills ready,” he continued, glancing fleetingly back at Lex. “We’re re-writing history tonight.”
“No,” Aydra said with a shake of her head. “We’re breaking the Chronicles at the spine.”
Draven’s head tilted at her, and before she could blink, his lips pressed hard against hers. She wavered on the spot at the ferocity exuding from him into her, and when he pulled back, his hand pressed into her cheek.
“I fucking love you,” he growled.
She didn’t have a chance to respond. He kissed her again, and once more with such an intensity that she had to grab his waist to stay steady. After a moment, he let her go, and he backed away from she, continuing to shake his head and look the whole of her body over. Words refused to escape her lips as she watched him, and then when he finally turned on his heel and walked down the hall, the breath she’d held inside finally exhaled from her body.
Her balance staggered, and she felt Lex’s hands on her arms to keep her on her feet. A mocking grin had spread on Lex’s face when she came to stand before Aydra, hands still holding onto her.
“Have we recovered?” Lex bantered.
Aydra was still staring at the door Draven had left through. “I may have to go back in my room and take care of something before banquet,” she breathed, eyes widened up at Lex.
Lex snorted and wrapped an arm around Aydra’s shoulders, staring at the door as Aydra was. “Same, my Queen. Same,” she agreed with a grin. “But we are late. So I think the both of us will have to go with mental release until the night.”
Aydra nodded and squeezed Lex’s hand. “Right. To our inevitable deaths, then?”
“After you, Your Majesty,” Lex mocked.
“Dance with you?” Nyssa repeated, brows furrowed. “What—”
Aydra grabbed her hand and pulled her to the middle of the floor. “Don’t worry, I’ll lead,” she told her with a smile.
A short squeak emitted from Nyssa’s lips when Aydra twirled her and then pulled her back in. The wild look on Nyssa’s face made Aydra laugh.
“What’s wrong, sister?” Aydra mocked. “Should two women not be allowed to dance together for fear of mockery or scorn?”
“It is quite unorthodox,” Nyssa said.
Aydra chuckled under her breath. “Since when has anything I have done been by the rules?”
Nyssa seemed to relax, and she squeezed Aydra’s hand as she smiled at her. “Never.”
A full grin spread on Aydra’s face, and she pushed Nyssa out to twirl her once more. “Besides—” Aydra wrapped Nyssa into her and then twirled her back out “—this dress favors much better with the wind in it.”
The laughter that emitted from Nyssa’s lips made Aydra’s chest tighten, and when Aydra pulled her back in and held her hands, she felt her head shake at her younger sister.
“You should get to know more of these people, especially Balandria and Nadir,” Aydra told her.
Nyssa’s eyes narrowed before flickering past Aydra to where she knew Nadir was standing on the other side of the room. “I thought I was to stay away from Nadir.”
Aydra paused, her gaze squinting at her sister. “You think he’s cute, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Nyssa answered quickly. Aydra’s brows raised, and Nyssa’s cheeks flushed. “I mean… I do— Have you seen him? He’s—”
Aydra cut her off with a laugh, and she shook her head. “No,” she told her.
“But he’s gorgeous,” Nyssa argued, eyes flickering towards him in the corner.
“Nyssari!” Aydra laughed.
The twisted disappointed smirk Nyssa gave her then reminded Aydra of the time she’d taken away Nyssa’s first sword at the age of nine. Aydra shook her head and hugged Nyssa tightly, inhaling the scent of her sister’s cinnamon hair. When she pulled back, she pressed her hands to Nyssa’s cheeks and scrunched up her face amusedly at her. “No,” she laughed. “He’s the worst sort of man.”
Nyssa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well… He’s handsome. Smart. Confident. Leading commander of an army.” Aydra chanced a glance across the room towards where Nadir was leaning against a column. “And he’s quite funny,” she finished. “You’ll be in love with him before you realize what’s happening.”
