I wore green tonight just in case I saw him. I wanted to see if he’d comment on the change again. He didn’t. I even asked Sybil to come by and help do my hair and makeup extra nice, which she did graciously. I paid her excessively because she made me feel confident and pretty.
I don’t know how long I stand in the darkness of the closet, petting dresses, lost in my thoughts. It feels nice. Peaceful.
I think I’ll go dance though. It seems Meela and Raef have forgotten me, too absorbed in their exciting game. I hope they win.
I twirl through the doorway and look around for a familiar face to dance with, but no one is dancing. Maybe I’ll go dance through the large, magical hallways instead. Like I used to when I was small and it felt so magical.
When I exit her room, it’s quiet. I suddenly don’t feel like dancing. Instead, I walk very slowly along the wall with my hand trailing against the cool, frosty windows. I can barely see anything except some distant, blurry torches out there, but they’re entrancing me.
I’m so enchanted that I nearly walk straight into a large male in black who has suddenly appeared in front of me. He stops me, holding my shoulders, his voice smooth like silk.
“What are you doing?”
My heart flutters as I look into those eyes that remind me of a painting of the swirling sea from before. “Daegan,” I purr with a smile.
“Again… what are you doing out here? Alone…?” He looks upset, perplexed even.
“Petting the cool, frosty windows. It looks magical out there, doesn’t it?” I look out again, hoping he’ll see what I mean.
He looks even more angry now. “Where are Meela and Raef?”
“Playing on her bed.”
Daegan rubs a large, strong hand over his face. I grab the other one, holding it with both of my hands that seem so small in comparison. “Your hands are so rough,” I mutter, running my thumbs along the hardened patches on his palm.
His chest expands with a slow, deep breath as he watches me.
“I wore green tonight,” I tell him.
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you point it out? You don’t like it as much as the blue?”
“It doesn’t matter what color you wear,” he says, still letting me run by fingers along his palm. His expression is… blank.
“Why not?” I ask. I think under normal circumstances, the emotion I’d feel would be sad.
“Doesn’t matter,” he mumbles.
I look up at him and his beautiful eyes—but then I’m distracted by his wild, wavy hair. I need to touch that too. So I do. I reach up and run my hand gently through it. It’s soft.
I shift my gaze to his and find him watching me. His eyes have darkened. He grabs my hand that’s in his hair, stopping me. He lowers it and then lets go.
“Come on,” he growls. “I need to go find Raef, and then I’m taking you both home.”
“Okay. We can all walk together. That’ll be fun.”
He pulls me along with my hand in his. All the way back to Meela’s room.
“Sand!” Raef exclaims again. “When did you leave the closet?”
“The closet?” Daegan seethes.
Oh. He’s really mad. I wonder why.
“She wanted to pet some soft things,” Raef shrugs. Perfectly normal explanation, obviously. “She was in there for a long time. Figured it was safer than anywhere else.”
“I could punch you in the fucking face right now, Raef,” Daegan growls at him quietly.
