“Not like the swells on the coast,” Lilith snipped back, taking a sip of her wine. “You ask them, the Highwinds shat the moon.”
That got a good laugh out of them all, Keira included. Caspian could only assume they meant the Highwind Trading Company. He’d of course heard of the largest merchant cartel along the Southern coast, but being so far removed from the channel, he’d never dealt with them directly.
Their talk dissolved into a myriad of topics, all light and full of jokes and teasing. Some Caspian followed, and others he did not. Even so, he was happy to see Keira laughing along with them. Soon they separated to enjoy the festivities. Rhea and Lilith left after the latter begged for a dance. Florian joined them as Gareth and Knox shared a mutual intent to find the dice tables.
Once he and Keira were alone, they fell quiet, the revelry around them filling the silence comfortably enough.
“Does it- Do you ever feel like you’re dreaming?” Keira asked. Her eyes followed the festivities in the warm bonfire glow.
He nodded. “It’s hard to believe that this is all real. That I could have this life, and you in it.”
“Ignatius never let me go to feast days,” Keira said quietly.
“I remember,” Caspian murmured. His brows creased as he studied her. She had hardly mentioned her guardian. He’d almost forgotten that she had only just learned of his passing.
“He always said they were a waste of time. But I don’t think so, do you?”
His brow tightened. “No, I don’t think it’s a waste of time to celebrate, to enjoy yourself.”
Keira shook her head. “I never used to care what he’d think. But now that he’s gone, I find myself measuring my life against what he would have wanted.”
“He would have wanted you to do whatever made you happy, Keira.”
She looked up at him soberly. “I don’t know if that’s true.”
He sighed. “I want you to be happy,” Caspian said. That was the truth, undeniable.
She gave him a small, burdened smile.
Caspian took her hand. “Dance with me.”
Apprehension colored her features.
“Just you and me, I promise.”
Still, her eyes scanned the crowd. He was asking for her to be on display, but it was better than letting her linger in a shadow with only her ill thoughts for company.
Caspian waited for what seemed a lifetime before Keira took a step toward him and then another. Their momentum carried them all the way to the center of the square as the next song played.
She was stiff in his arms as the quick movements began. It was different from the night before. The music was louder, folk tunes in contrast to the polite and measured ballroom waltzes. Dozens of others danced about them, though they were given a wide berth. He had attended Llyndale’s Holly festival every year since his posting at Northall, which he assumed was more than his predecessor had done. Yet this was his first time taking part in the festivities. There were many watchful eyes following them, but Caspian kept his fixed on Keira.
“It’s just you and me,” Caspian whispered.
Keira stopped glancing over her shoulders and looked up with her bright green eyes. He almost forgot himself in the dance. He twirled her until she was pressed against him, facing away, his arms crossed around her.
“They’re all looking at me,” Keira said.
He spun her back to face him. “Well, you are dancing with a lord.” He smirked.
Keira shot him a halfhearted glare at his cockiness.
From then on, he felt her stiffness melt away. As true darkness fell and the mulled wine was consumed, they danced and laughed freely. Her spirit returned to her eyes with each passing hour. If it were possible, she was even more beautiful by the light of the bonfires. The way the warm glow touched her skin was luminous, the chestnut notes of her hair shining. Caspian caught her as she spun before him, overwhelmed by all of her, by love of her.
He didn’t care if it was the middle of a dance. Caspian kissed her, pouring into her everything that was swelling in his heart.I loved you before. I loved you every day you were gone. I love who you are to me now, and I will love every version of yourself that you could become.Without words, she understood him, and in her touch, he could feel her telling him the same. They were no longer holding onto memories, loving ghosts.
Gasps from the crowd tugged at his attention, cheers and laughter filling the night. The holly wreaths that decorated the square had begun to bloom and grow, spreading down the buildings and across the cobblestones until they were encircled by sharp leaved vines crowned with brilliant red berries.
Keira blushed, looking at what her magic had done.
