Alina nods enthusiastically, her long blue braid swaying with the movement. “I promise. This stays between us. Poppy will have no idea you prepared for this.” She clasps her hands together in front of her. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”
I take another steadying breath and nod. The dizziness is starting to fade now that I’m focusing on something other than how high up we are. As long as I don’t look out of the glass walls at the ground way below us, I should be fine. Hopefully. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
“Wonderful,” Alina says before taking Raelan’s hand and guiding him to the center of the tiled mosaic floor. I follow slowly. “First, we’ll start with the basic dance frame.”
Raelan demonstrates, one hand extended, the other positioned on Alina’s waist. She places her hand in his and rests her other hand on his shoulder. They look so natural together, I immediately worry this is going to be harder than they make it seem.
She’s the princess, for goddess’s sake, and he’s a knight. Of course they know how to do this. I’m just a half-orc runeball captain who may or may not be getting kicked from his team. Maybe this was a bad idea.
“Your turn,” Alina says, stepping away from Raelan and facing me.
My stomach clenches, but not from the height this time. “With...?”
“With me,” Alina says matter-of-factly. “Raelan will guide you through the steps from the side. It’s easier to learn when you’re actually dancing with someone.”
Raelan nods his approval, and I check to make sure his claws have retracted back to normal fingernails.Are dragon shifters territorial? Pretty sure I missed that lesson too.
Alina tips her head and holds out her arms. “Come on. Don’t be shy.”
I step forward awkwardly, trying to remember how she and Raelan were positioned. Alina is patient, adjusting my hand when I place it too high on her waist—Iobviouslydidn’t want to put it too low—then swiftly correcting my posture when I hunch.
“Relax your shoulders,” she instructs gently. “You’re too tense.”
“Sorry, I just—I don’t wantto step on you.”
She laughs, her blue eyes catching the starlight slipping through the glass dome overhead. “I’m tougher than I look. Besides, everyone steps on their partner’s feet when they’re learning. It’s part of the process.” Alina grins up at me, and I can see why Poppy likes her so much. “You’ll be fine. Now, let’s start with the basics.”
Raelan moves to stand beside us, his dark eyes tracking our positioning. “The waltz follows a simple pattern,” he says, his voice taking on an instructional tone. “Three beats. One-two-three, one-two-three. The man leads with his left foot forward, the woman steps back with her right.”
“Left foot forward,” I repeat, trying to commit it to memory.
“On the count of one,” Raelan continues. “Then side-step with your right foot on two. On three, bring your left foot to meet your right. That’s your first measure. Then you reverse it—right foot back, left to the side, right foot meets left.”
I nod slowly, mentally walking through the pattern. Forward, side, together. Back, side, together. It sounds simple enough. But in practice? Probably not so simple.
“Ready?” Alina asks.
I tighten my grip on her hand and nod once. “Ready.”
“One-two-three, one-two-three,” Raelan counts, his voice steady and rhythmic.
I step forward with my left foot at the same moment Alina steps back, and for one glorious second, it actually works. Then I step to the side—right on top of her foot. She squeaks.
“Shit, sorry!” I freeze, horrified.
But Alina just laughs and squeezes my hand. “Keep going! Don’t stop. The music won’t stop for you at the ball, so we keep moving through the mistakes.”
Raelan starts counting again, and this time I manage the first pattern without squashing the princess of our realm. Forward, side, together.Nailed it.But the sense of accomplishment is short-lived, because when I try to reverse the pattern, I forget which foot to move first and end up doing some kind of awkward shuffle step that makes Alina stumble.
“Sorry, sorry—”
“Aric.” Alina’s voice is firm but kind. “Stop apologizing. You’re learning. Now, let’s try that again. Raelan, count us in.”
We run through the basic pattern again and again. Forward, side, together. Back, side, together. My legs feel clumsy and too long, like I’m moving a body that doesn’t quite fit me. But gradually, slowly, my feet start to remember the rhythm.
“Better,” Raelan says after our fifth run-through. “You’re getting the footwork. But you’re still watching your feet.”
I am watching my feet, because if I don’t, I’m terrified I’ll step on Alina again.
