That sounded perfect. “I already have questions.”
A silent chuckle shook his arm. “Of course you do.” He spread his free arm out to the side and bent in a shallow bow as we walked. “Interrogate me, then, my lady. I am all yours.”
Such a statement! He probably didn’t mean it as broadly as I wanted to interpret it, but I loved how it sounded. “Will you tell me about your mask? How can you see out of it?”
We turned up a wide staircase. “The fabric is layered in such a way that it allows me to see through it in one direction. I can see out easily, well, easily enough, but nobody can see my face because of the criss-crossed layers.”
“Oh, I’ve seen fabric like that before.”
“Yes,” he said, “we use it most often in theaters and performances.”
“What about breathing? The fabric I’ve seen doesn’t let air flow more easily in one direction.”
We turned off the staircase and down a narrow corridor I didn’t remember visiting.
“No,” he answered, “my breathing is quite… muffled.”
“Oh. So wearing the mask every evening all the time is probably not a good solution.”
He stopped in front of a door. “No. I am happy to wear this mask for you tonight. And perhaps on otheroccasions in the future. But I will be very relieved when I take it off after the ball.”
I squeezed his bicep where my hand had been resting. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “It is my privilege.” His voice was so warm and sincere that my heart tried floating right out of my chest. When this year was over, I would reach up and touch his face and kiss his skin—
A guard opened the door in front of us. As we crossed the threshold, we entered the second floor of a ballroom that must have been enchanted to look like the night sky. Bylur led me to the top of a grand staircase as someone called out in a magically magnified voice, “House Umbran Lord Bylur and Lady Auria.” I stood up taller and tightened my hold on Bylur’s arm.
A small orchestra paused their song, and several hundred guests on the dance floor below turned toward us and bowed. We stood at the top of the staircase for several seconds, then Bylur dipped his head slightly and spread his free hand to the side. The orchestra picked up the music again, and a buzz of conversation filled the room.
I blew out the breath I’d been holding. “That was terrifying.”
He chuckled again. “You should be glad, then, that I didn’t make you a queen.”
The idea of all those people staring at me all the time was horrible. “Yes. Absolutely. Very glad about that.” Of course, I still had a plan for this evening that involved them all staring at me again.
Bylur must have sensed my anxiety over it, because he led me toward the dance floor and offered me his free hand. “Worry later. Dance with me?”
I set my hand in his, and he shifted our other hands so he led me with a hand on my back. We started out slow, as if he didn’t want to knock me off balance, but he held me so that I could feel him start to turn. My body responded to every nudge, and soon we moved in perfect harmony. Like two ribbons spinning together, we twirled across the dance floor. Magic in two tones—his dark shadows and his glowing moon magic—swirled and coalesced around us. His warm hand on my back felt just as safe as when I’d tucked myself into his bear form. I’d never been so happy.
Slowing us down, he smiled, the layers of his mask shifting with his lips. He leaned closer to me. “Do you still trust me?”
“More than ever.” My voice sounded breathless after all the spinning we’d just done.
He dropped my hands, settled his on my waist, and then hoisted me into the air. I spread my arms as if I were flying, and then—
I was!
He tossed me several feet above him and, two seconds later, caught me by the waist again. He guided my fall so I landed on my feet and then spun out the rest of my momentum. As my spin waned, he caught my hand and pulled me back to his chest in a dance position. The music slowed with us.
“You’re a dream, Auria,” he whispered as we barely swayed. “And I don’t want to wake up.”
He said he couldn’t feel my soul, but those words touched the deepest emotions I had. And my mouth responded. “We don’t need to wake up. I already love you. Bylur, we’remarried! We have everything we need to be happy together.”
We stopped moving. The music faded away into an eruption of applause, and Bylur took my head in his hands. He pressed his fabric-covered cheek against mine and whispered in my ear. “I want to rip my mask off and kiss you properly.”
I covered his hands with my own and nudged one to the front of my face so I could kiss it. “Wouldn’t your court be scandalized?”
He shook his head. “They are notoriously difficult to embarrass.” As if to confirm it, someone whistled from the side of the room.
