Page 98 of Daughter of No Worlds

With Sammerin gone, my eyes scanned the room again. Now that I was looking, it was easy to spot Zeryth — the whole room seemed to bend around him, like he was the center of gravity around which this entire affair revolved. He stood near that enormous mural, making exuberant conversation. He had the light of someone who was utterly in their element — and dressed in an impeccably tailored jacket lined with white silk and silver thread that glimmered beneath the lights, he looked the part.

Nura, on the other hand, lingered against the wall alone, nursing a drink. Her dress was an almost comically faithful adaptation of the outfit she wore every day — white, high-necked, with long sleeves that hugged her slender arms and a skirt that reached the floor.

I stepped out into the crowd. Necks craned to follow me, stares immediately followed by horrified gasps at the sight of my back. “Did you seethat?” I heard one man whisper to his companion, and I held back a furious smirk of delight.

Look at me,I commanded, and they all obeyed. I felt every one of those eyes.

But I felt Zeryth’s most of all.

And when I turned around and looked over my shoulder, pretending to be surprised to find his gaze meeting mine, I gave him a dazzling, vicious smile.

“Zeryth,” I purred, by way of greeting. “Dance with me.”

A dusty, well-worn metronome started in my head. I hoped I remembered my dancing steps after all these months.

“I’d be delighted.” My arms were around Zeryth’s neck before the words fully left his lips. His hand rose to my waist. In one smooth movement, he swept me out onto the dance floor. It was amazing how quick, how fluid, the whole transaction was — like we were two stars colliding and flying away. And if people were staring at me before… well, now they weregawking. Perfect.

1, 2, 3…

Zeryth’s white hair was neatly tamed into a tail at the base of his neck, though a few strands escaped and danced around his face as we moved. He grinned at me.

“I always knew I’d see you at one of these things one day. And you’re just as stunning as I thought you’d be.”

4, 5, 6…

I returned his smile with my own — one I pulled back and dusted off for the first time in a long time. “I’m very happy I have made it here, too. It is an opportunity that most people like me never get to have.”

Zeryth’s face, ever the picture of pleasant charm, didn’t so much as flicker. But I felt his fingers tighten slightly at the base of my back, as if extra aware of my scars.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the answer you wanted yesterday. Your friend has my greatest sympathy.”

“That’s very kind of you. We should be grateful to have even the thoughts of the Arch Commandant.”1, 2, 3.We spun around the room, moving so quickly at the crowd smeared behind Zeryth’s face. And my smile was so unwavering I thought it might crack. “What more could we ask for?”

A brief hesitation. “Well—” he started.

“What more could I have asked for, Zeryth?”

My smile disappeared, though Zeryth’s only barely soured.

“I would have gotten you out if I could, Tisaanah,” he said.

“I do not think that’s true.”

“I—”

But my words leapt up my throat like ropes of fire. “I think that you enjoyed the way I looked at you when I was fourteen and you were the only thing I knew of a world beyond Threll. I think it that felt good to you, and I think you liked me. But I do not think you wanted or cared to get me out.”

“It is a complicated situation.”

“That may be true. But nonetheless, my life was not worth your inconvenience. And that is what it is. But do not lie to me about it. I’m tired of lies and performances.”

Zeryth’s eyebrow twitched. With little warning, he launched me into a twirl. I managed to catch myself before I lost my balance, spun in a gliding swirl before he pulled me back against him. As I landed, he tilted his face toward my ear. “Isn’t that what we’re doing now? Performing?”

4, 5, 6.

“A performance shows people a pleasant lie,” I replied. “Tonight I show them an ugly reality.”

A cool breath of a chuckle caressed my cheek. “I see nothing ugly here.”

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