Cal shook his head and held her hand to his lips. “There’s no one here but you.”
He watched with amusement as her cheeks turned pink. Making her blush was his favorite game and one he was quite good at.
He let her lead him further into the great hall where the dance was being held. Watching her discover the way the hall had been decorated and hearing her gasp in delight was far more entertaining than actually seeing them for himself.
He didn’t care about the ice sculptures carved into cute woodland creatures and charmed to never melt on each table. He didn’t care about the glittering bubbles floating above them and lighting the hall. He certainly didn’t care about what each woman had chosen to wear but Ara did so he did.
She brought him to a table already occupied by her friends, Roxie and Lily. Despite having met them once already, she had given him a mental rundown hours ago. He was well versed in the fact that Roxie and Lily liked each other but refused to act on their feelings.
Lily wore a gown of light purple but it appeared ceremonial in nature, a darker purple draped from her waist attached at the hip by a gold medallion. He recognized the symbol on it as the South Sildan sigil.
He grinned. “Lily, wasn't it?”
Her eyes traveled from his face to his shoes and back again before she turned to Roxie, ignoring him.
“And Roxie, that color on you is positively bewitching.”
Ara held his arm in hers and smiled as if lit from within, as if happy to have her worlds melding at last. Which was quite an improvement from the last time they were all together.
Roxie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, tossing her wild red curls back. “Calder, wasn't it? When Ara told me she was coming with you to the ball I thought she was joking.”
Ara’s light dimmed just a little and Cal pulled her closer to him. “Our Ara, such a secretive little minx.”
“My Ara,” Roxie said, staking her claim.
“All right, I’ll give you every other weekend and we’ll alternate holidays,” Cal conceded but then twirled Ara so her white dress spun and sparkled beneath the lights. “But tonight? Ara is mine.”
He took her across the room to get a drink from a fountain that cascaded in all sorts of colors.
“Has Seren recruited them all to the I Hate Cal Club?” he teased as he handed her a cup.
Ara nodded, taking it. She swirled the vivid liquid. “I’m pretty sure they are making buttons for the next meeting. I can get you one. Though I wish . . .”
She trailed off but Cal knew what she wished. That her friends had welcomed him with open arms. Cal took her cup and set it down on the nearest table. “Dance with me?”
Ara glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Cal, no one else is dancing.”
He led her to the empty dance floor and held his palm up to hers, his other arm folded behind his back. The string quartet straightened at the bandstand and raised their instruments as Ara curtseyed low, her eyes locked on his.
She rose as the music began and he took her in his arms as if they were the only people in the room.
Others joined them though and soon students from every school were dancing together.
The music changed, and the conductor turned around on the podium. “Begin the Exchanging of Partners.”
Cal raised his eyebrow. “I think not. Like I said I’ll have them all.”
He began to lead her away from the floor but in the chaos of the partner exchange, they were each caught up with another dancer.
Ara’s eyes widened and fear pulsed through their connection as she waltzed away from him. He couldn’t see who was causing her to feel that way as his current partner’s hair was a foot taller than he was and just as wide.
“Hi, Calder,” Ariminta purred, her perfume was so strong it was on the verge of causing him to choke. “It's so sweet of you to dance with Arabella Marudas. Such a noble and charitable thing to do but you should know she cheated her way into Calami and has continued to do so. Not to mention her family is of no importance. I, on the other hand– ”
Cal held her hands with his fingertips, his body as far back as possible. “What’s charitable is my dancing with you long enough for you to string a sentence together, Ariminta. I thought I made it clear the first time we spoke I have no interest in you.”
He quickly swapped partners and continued to do so, chasing after Ara. He caught glimpses of her through the crowd. The ribbon holding half her hair up. The sparkling bodice of her dress. The swish of her skirt.
He paused only a moment when he caught sight of his brother dancing, albeit stiffly, with Seren. A strange feeling fluttered in his chest, hope? Happiness? Indigestion most likely. He locked eyes with Seren and winked at her before dancing away again. If he weren’t chasing after Ara he would certainly entertain the idea of interrupting their dance and whisking Seren around the dance floor. The risk to his wardrobe would be worth the look on her and Icarus's faces.
