I hoped to be long gone by then.
“Here we are.” I pulled open the door, standing back to allow Sofie to enter ahead of me. She sniffed at the gentlemanly gesture, then swept past me.
For a moment, as she stepped out into the moonlight, her skin seemed to shimmer like the silver thread in her dress, as if Icould see the magic coiled beneath her frost white skin. I almost forgot what I was here for—what I was doing.
I got ahold of myself, but barely, as I joined her on the balcony, offering her my hand with a courtly bow.
“What’s this?” she asked, forehead creased as if expecting some trick.
“How one of the dances begins. Mind you, I don’t really know which name goes with which, just the steps. I think you’ll find our dances a bit old fashioned. Pirates don’t spend much time in polite society. I believe this one would’ve been danced in our grandparents’ day.”
Still, she eyed me with suspicion.
“Come now, wife—”
And then she did a remarkable thing. She took my hand. And let melead.
She was, as I expected, a perfectionist, demanding I stop and explain the steps she flubbed. Once, she even tripped, forcing me to catch her.
Forcing me to put my arms around her, and feel the pounding of her heart.
That wasn’t the worst of it. My heart’s speed mirrored her own—and not because of our dancing.
To hide it, I attempted a jest. “Not very nimble, are you? No wonder you chose magic over a shield-maiden’s life.”
She snorted. “As if I had a choice.”
My brows rose. “You were forced to study magic?”
For a moment, as she regained her balance, our eyes met. There I was, trying not to look earnest. There she was, gazing back at me, vaguely annoyed.
Whatever my foolish heart was getting at, it was doing it all on its own now, without any reciprocation. That alone should’ve been enough to quell any interest from me.
But a little nagging voice would not leave me alone.Admit it,it said.Were the circumstances different, you might think her the perfect woman for you.
I wanted to deny it. To suggest that her following my lead out here beneath the moonlight was playing tricks on me, causing me to picture a sweet, docile bride. To picture someone more like Amarylis.
But I liked Sofie’s ferocity, and that innate savagery of hers that I sometimes saw glimpses of. Her willingness to charge in first and ask questions later, while lately I spent my days questioning anything and everything.
“When you have a gift for chaos magic,” she said, smoothing her hair, “there is no choice but to hone it. Otherwise, terrible things can happen.”
“That’s the difference between you and me, then. I find terrible things terribly entertaining.”
“It’s not a joke,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “You don’t understand what chaos can do.”
But I did understand. I understood what it was doing to me right now.
The gods who had seen to it that her flight from Endergeist happened at the same time I was crossing that end of the Prevarian Sea, I prayed they’d spare this bride. I didn’t care if she wished to remain my wife when this was over.
I just wanted to be free from the curse. I just wanted this last bride to survive.
“One of these days,” I said, “I think I’d like to see some of your chaos.”
“Be careful what you wish for.” She held out her arms, as if expecting me to lift her. “We need to practice that last step again.”
I laughed, slicked back my hair and pretended I was unaffected her, by her rosy cheeks, her determination, herenchanted gown that made her look like a queen from a storybook. “Dancing with you is no fun at all,” I complained.
“Nor should it be. I would hate for you to enjoy any part of this.”
