“Sometimes momentary distractions are all we have to get us through the hard bits between them.” Alyss wriggled her fingers over a rock in her palm. She was slowly changing its shape into a rabbit with every pulse of her magic.
“I can’t afford to be distracted.” The sight of Olivin, of his worry, had sobered her. Eira stood. “I should—”
She was interrupted by Cullen striding over. He held out his hand with a breathless smile. A flush from all the dancing, and the ale, coated his cheeks. “Eira, come and dance with us.”
“I’m not really—”
“Come on, just one dance.” Noelle raced over, hooking Eira’s elbow and forcefully dragging her to their impromptu dance floor at the edge of the picnic blankets. “We have seven people and we need an even number for the next one.”
“Why not Alyss?” Eira looked back over her shoulder.
“I have two left feet and you know it.” Alyss didn’t even look up from the rock she was sculpting.
“What I know is you’d rather sculpt than dance!”
“Guilty.” Alyss grinned slightly. So predictable.
Eira glanced toward Olivin. He met her eyes, as if he knew she’d been about to look his way. His expression was utterly unreadable. The idea of letting him down when she had sworn to him earlier she’d protect his brother was almost unbearable. “Can’t you get Evanel to do it?”
“If you keep resisting this hard we’re going to think you don’t like us!” Noelle laughed, still hanging on Eira’s arm. She really couldn’t hold her drink.
“Evanel just went to get more ale,” Varren said. “One dance and then we’ll swap you out for him?”
“All right,onedance,” she said firmly, already feeling guilt seep into the pit of her stomach at the thought of dancing while Olivin worried over his brother. But she had already spent so much time enjoying the picnic that she shouldn’t have. What was one dance?
“Excellent, it’s not hard. This is the basic step.” Varren put his right foot forward, and then pulled it to the side. He stepped once, brought his feet together with a little jump, spun in place, and then stepped forward, bringing his hands up. “Then you spin around one more time and change places with the person on your left. You’ll figure out the rest as we go.”
“All right.”
Varren must’ve picked up on the uncertainty in her words. “Lop, set a slower beat for this time around.”
Lop brandished a wooden spoon, his reply a steady strike.
“One, two, three…”
As Varren counted, the rest of them moved. Eira was paired off opposite Noelle first. She mirrored her friend’s movements, a bit clumsy and out of step. Noelle grabbed her hands with purpose, spinning and laughing. Her amusement was infectious and Eira couldn’t stop a small smile. She transitioned to the next partner, Menna. Eira was just beginning to get the steps when they transitioned again.
Cullen.
He had a small, warm smile as they took their places opposite each other. Eira’s own slipped slightly from her lips. Moving in tandem with him still felt so natural. Painfully easy. He held up his hands for hers and Eira’s palms slid slowly against his until they were flush. His fingers laced with hers, wrapping around the backs of her hands.
As they turned, they drew a step closer. Eyes locked with hers, he breathed in slowly. She couldfeelthe words he wanted to say as keenly as every beat of her heart—see them written across his eyes.
Don’t do this to us. Her slightly parted lips whispered without words.
I can’t stop it, can you?The slight furrow in his brow seemed to reply.
She could steal the life from someone’s eyes…but she couldn’t stop him from gripping her heart with a mere glance. Ripping her attention from his felt worse than Kotol’s claws on her chest. She should’ve allowed the draconi to rip out her heart on the first day of that tournament.
The rest of the dance was a short-lived daze. Evanel was back, arms laden with flagons. Varren was calling him over. ButCullen’s attention was on her; she could feel it without needing to look.
“Would you like to dance again, Eira?” he asked her even when his fingers were still laced with Lavette’s.
Did he have any idea how much it hurt her? How hard it was to force a smile as she shook her head? She didn’t think so. Cullen was oblivious, foolish, but not intentionally cruel. Though, at some point, her patience for his unknowing blows would run thin.
If she was able to be around him that long.
“I’m going to sit out. Thanks for teaching me your dance,” she said with a nod to Varren, Kinnya, and Lavette.
