He gestures wildly. ‘Everywhere.’
‘No need to be so specific.’
Ren beams at me.
‘What’s happening out there?’
‘Dancing,’ he replies, pulling at the collar of his doublet. ‘Lots and lots of dancing. Do you want to dance?’
‘No.’ That came out more harshly than I meant it to. I try again. ‘No, thank you.’
‘I’d dance with you,’ Renly says earnestly.
I smile. ‘That’s very sweet of you, but I’m not hanging around.’
His face falls.
‘Don’t worry,’ I say quickly. ‘I’ve just had enough for tonight. I’m all smiled out.’
He points at my mouth. ‘You just smiled at me.’
‘That’s because you’re you,’ I tell him, tapping his nose. ‘And you can stay for a while, if you’re sensible.’
He thinks this over. ‘Blaze?’
‘Yes?’ I shift into a sitting position, knees aching.
‘Please dance with me. Just one dance.Please.’
I shake my head firmly.
He pouts. ‘Why not?’
‘Renly,’ I say sternly. ‘Remember what Grandmother said?’
He lifts his chin high, looks down his nose at me and says, in a remarkably accurate impersonation of her voice, ‘Best behaviour.’ Then, with an impish grin, he darts out from underneath the table before I can grab hold of him.
Brilliant.
For a moment I’m tempted to take Flint’s advice and let Renly do as he pleases, but I’m not Flint, and if Renly’s goingto get up to mischief, it’s best I find him before Grandmother does. And so, grinding my teeth, I give up on my bid for freedom and follow him.
Music swells around the hall as couples whirl across the dance floor. I bolt after Ren as he hurtles between them, weaving in and out of moving colours. I’m almost close enough to seize his shoulder when someone careens into me, causing me to stumble. When I glance back at where Ren was standing only seconds before, I see that he’s already disappeared.
‘What do you think you’redoing?’
I turn to find a girl glowering at me. I remember her from earlier – the Aquatori courtier in the dress woven from silver fish scales. Her eyes and skin are a deep bronze and in her hair she wears tiny clips shaped like fish.
Her dance partner steps forward. His face is concerned, though a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. ‘Are you all right?’
I curse the star I was born under and curtsy low to the emperor’s son. ‘Your Imperial Highness. Forgive me.’
Intrigue gleams in Prince Haldyn’s raven eyes. He’s even more handsome up close. With his high cheekbones, chiselled jaw and porcelain skin, he looks as though he could have been carved from marble. I feel myself blush, which only makes his smile grow wider. He wears a fine gold doublet and a simple crown that he reaches up to straighten.
‘No harm done,’ he says warmly. ‘Right, Marina?’
Marina looks as if she might throttle me, but when she turns back to the prince her face is all sweetness. ‘Oh, absolutely. No harm done.’
I rub my throbbing side in disagreement. Couples are still dancing around us, making my head spin. I search desperately for the best route off the dance floor.
