Taiyo looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Is that a problem?”
“I think some fresh air would do you some good.”
“Probably, but I’ve just spent all night trying to think of ways to get you outside so I can see you and that dress in the sunset.”
Hellebore pulled her hand out of his, rolling her eyes as they started descending the stairs. “At some point, you’ll get tired of all that.”
Taiyo looked back at her even as he continued taking the stairs one by one. “Of you? Never.”
What was the point in arguing with him? She wasn’t even sure what she was really arguing for, only what she was arguing against.
She took a deep breath when they stepped outside the castle, basking in the lingering warmth and glow of the sun as it began to descend. True to his word, Taiyo stopped and stared at her, painted in the pink and orange glow of the sky.
The longer he did, the less the warmth she felt came from the sun and more from the rush that went through her when she had his undivided attention like this.
Finally, he shook his head and started walking, throwing over his shoulder, “Definitely worth it.”
She hurried after him as they wound their way around the castle, passing by and through the public gardens until she spotted a familiar hedge. She grabbed Taiyo’s sleeve and tugged on it. She pointed to it and said, “That’s the iris garden, right?”
Taiyo nodded, coming up to it. He reached in and nudged a few branches to the side, revealing a path into it. “This is a more secret entrance. I’ve let it mostly grow over in the last few years, but I keep just enough of a way through that it still exists. It’s not good for a place to only have one exit. Should an enemy corner someone here, it’s an escape. Hellebore, wait—”
But she was already slipping through, doing her best not to snag her skirts or bodice on the branches. She stepped into the garden and the stench of the rot overwhelmed her all over again without her mask to filter it out.
She turned as Taiyo followed her. She gestured to it and said, “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
If both entrances were guarded, but only one was locked with a key…
“Do you think that’s how the Moon Elves got in here and introduced the rot?”
Taiyo gritted his teeth, crossing his arms. “I don’t know.”
Hellebore turned on her heels, looking at the last remaining patch of irises, all on their last legs. They were closer to the main entrance. Taiyo had said the disease had started closer to the main entrance and that patch was one they’d tried to protect.
Why protect that patch, closer to the contagious flowers, rather than the ones farthest away from the disease?
Why—
She whipped around and looked up at the castle. She could hear the music from the ballroom in the distance and it wasnothelping her think.
She took a deep breath, looking back at the irises. If only one of them was healthy enough for her to be able to use just as a baseline to know if her cure was working on any level. It wasn’t the soil itself, but the roots—
Hellebore let out a yelp as she was swept up in Taiyo’s arms, spun around in the garden as he said, “Dance with me, sunshine.”
“What?” Hellebore clutched his arms until he set her back on her feet, hands on her waist and his face blocking her view of the irises.
“You promised me you didn’t need to work tonight, and we went to our first ball together and didn’t even have the chance to dance. Please, dance with me before the sun finishes setting and I won’t have the energy anymore.”
“Taiyo, if that’s your reasoning, you shouldn’t be dancing at all. You’re just trying to distract me because I started thinking about the irises. We’ll just go back—” Hellebore started to pull out of his grip, but he only wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her closer.
“Just one, Hellebore, please,” Taiyo whispered, and she froze. “I’m not so fragile I can’t dance with my wife once.”
His hand settled on her waist as his other found hers and took the position for a Chymesian dance Hellebore was thankfully passable in. He took the first step and she responded, taking the proper position as she whispered, “Why?”
Taiyo hummed along to the music, eyes locked onto hers as he moved them through the steps perfectly. “Does a husband need a reason to want to dance with his wife?”
She breathed out, unable to look away from him even if she wanted to. “You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
