Adara halted, turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were harsh, her lips a tight line. “I’d say you’re a shit liar,” she retorted. “And merely manipulating me so you can place my heart upon a shelf like some trophy alongside your precious keys.”
He chuckled. His fingers found hers, and he lifted her hand between them. “Let me just say that all the brightness of the stars on the darkest night could not outshine your beauty.” Perhaps manipulation was simply an instinct to him now. But that was all he could think to say to her—the truth. Warmth flooded his lips as he bent to press a kiss to the back of her hand.
When he rose, Adara turned from him and continued walking. But not before he caught a glimpse of the blush on her cheeks, accompanied by a smile she tried to suppress. Seeing the effect it had on her, Dominic smiled, too.
The closer they got to the docks, the louder the noise of the festivities grew. Music, so lifting and ethereal, played in the distance for all to hear. Dominic took note of the sudden skips in Adara’s steps and the way her skirts flowed in time with the tune and would sway with the music. She looked like the Goddess Elysian herself, with the flower crown atop her beautiful hair cascading down her back in gentle waves the color of soil. The silver jewelry and beading of her dress shone in the light as she frolicked and danced her way through the town without a care in the world.
This, he knew, was not a part of their act. Adara had once been in a caring home, full of friendship and light and love. A place she could no longer return to. He wondered what horriblethings she’d faced that made someone so lovely and full of light turn into the girl they called the Phoenix, so full of rage and vengeance. Whatever it was—whoever it was—Dominic would help her burn them to the ground. Because the Adara he saw now—filled with joy and fascination—he’d like to see more of. This side of her was just as alluring as the clever Flamecarrier, who was courageous enough to challenge the King of Keys in a game of love.
He’d help her destroy whoever did this to her. Not because he liked her, not because whoever it was deserved it, but because he didn’t want her to end up like him. She was already walking a dangerous line between her morals, and he didn’t think her gods would forgive her choices. If he could save her from abandoning herself as he had, he would. Sometimes, having a void in his chest where his heart used to reside was more of a curse than the freedom he’d thought he was claiming when he tossed it away.
He knew if he had not gotten rid of it, it would be beating rapidly right now. But instead, there was only the silent, empty cavern inside of him, dusted with cobwebs. His magic was the only thing keeping him alive, and that was trickling away.
They neared the end of the street, which opened to a wide stretch of cobblestone before a short cliff. A parapet lined the edge, with gaps every so often in the wall to allow for a set of stairs to descend to the docks. People sat along the ledge, unafraid of the drop. Dominic supposed it could be their way of appreciating life, knowing they could fall from the parapet and splatter onto the docks. But there were smiles on their faces as they looked out over the open ocean. He wondered how many of them were dreaming of leaving this place behind, of sailing to another continent and making a new life there.
But it would be extremely difficult. Those who wanted to reach Enfider would have to cross the Plagued Sea or risk the longer journey of heading north, then east, then back down south. Hesupposed they could fly, but dwodis were extremely expensive and hard to tame. They could sail south to Jeotom, but most wouldn’t want to go to a frozen land and discard their beliefs in magic and gods. There was no magic to be found in the tundra of Jeotom, as if the gods had taken their gifts after those in Jeotom stopped believing in them.
Perhaps there was somewhere else out there, full of wonder, waiting to be found in the vast world.
He turned to face Adara, but she was already gone, jogging over to a wide space occupied by people in colorful dresses and doublets, dancing a waltz to the musicians playing along the parapet. She slowed to a halt at the edge of the crowd gathering. A tender, sad smile settled onto her features as she watched them twirl to the music. Her fingers drummed against the sparkling fabric of her dress over her thigh.
Suddenly, Adara was being pulled into the crowd of dancers.
“Don’t just stand there, come on!” Asher’s hand found hers, an amicable smile lighting his ocean eyes, dimples emerging on his cheeks.
She laughed and let him drag her deep into the crowd, which now, Dominic noticed a few of the others dancing as well.
The sight of Tobias twirling Caleb in his arms and brushing a kiss to his lips had Dominic smiling. He was happy to see Tobias so openly affectionate with Caleb, considering his past. Tobias had been sold to a brothel at a young age, and when he first came to Andreilia, he despised anyone getting near him, let alone touching him. It was refreshing to see the light return to his hazel eyes around Caleb. Then there was Zephyr sitting atop Everux’s broad shoulders, whirling around, with their heads tipped back in laughter. Niran approached a girl with a courteous smile, and she gladly accepted his hand, both of them joining the fray.
The rest of the Andreilians sat along the parapet, eating sticks of skewered meat and chatting to themselves. Silas’s eyes narrowed in focus on the small block of wood in his hands he was carving. Vesper held a spyglass to his eye, tilted high above the open ocean, gazing at the stars. Ace gazed at the crowd of dancers, eyes tracking his brother and Adara.
Dominic’s gaze followed, admiring from afar as Adara expertly waltzed with Asher, skirts flowing in a glittering veil. Something tugged within him, like an invisible string tying him to her. The thought of her affection—her key—her smile, blinded him. And before he could think better of what he was doing, Dominic plunged into the masses of dancers.
Adara and Asher’s arms extended between them, Adara twirling away. Her fingers slipped out of his as she continued whirling in elegant circles, until Dominic’s hands found her hips, and she halted in his arms, hands placed on his chest.
“May I have this dance?” he said smoothly.
Adara stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, mouth slightly agape. She took a step away from him. His hands were cold as they fell away from her waist, disappointment clutching his lungs.
Then, as if she were afraid he’d retract his offer, eyes bright with anticipation, Adara broke into a radiant smile. “Yes, you may,” she said with a curtsy, taking his hand, and all that anxious warmth flooded back into him like a tidal wave.
He glanced at Asher over Adara’s shoulder, who was grinning widely and giving him a thumbs-up. Then Asher effortlessly swept into a dance with a girl who approached him. Dominic followed Adara’s act and sketched a bow, placing a soft kiss to her knuckles, lips meeting those mangled scars that marred her skin. For once, she had taken off those leather gloves. Then he led her into a dance.
It was ridiculous. The two most feared people in the realm, laughing, dancing, and acting like children. Technically, they were. Both were still teenagers, aged by the weight of the responsibilities and trauma they carried with them. It would completely ruin their reputations as heartless monsters, but in that moment, none of it mattered. They didn’t have to be the ones people cowered before. They were just two strangers passing through, having fun without a worry in the world.
The weight of their deadly journey to the Ruins could wait until tomorrow.
Dominic pulled Adara in close, with their hands clasped out to the side of them, his other on her waist, and hers on his shoulder. They followed the flow of the others dancing around them to the ethereal music full of life.
“How’d you learn to dance?” he asked.
She gracefully flowed through each step, as if the music spoke to her in a language only she knew.
“My mother taught me. She thought it was a skill I should have, along with wielding a weapon. She never wanted me to limit myself with anything,” she said, that nostalgic glimmer returning to her eyes, but it was gone in an instant. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
Dominic shrugged, trying not to step on her feet. “Good at improvising.”
The song ended, but the musicians didn’t pause there. They immediately launched into another tune, this one more upbeat and exciting, the kind that didn’t have a specific way of dancing to it. A song that was filled with the electrifying, wonderful sound of violins. A song that made the world believe that anything could happen.
