Page 12 of Kingdom of Dance

The former Mistran princess searched her eyes, and Zinnia could only hope Wren could see her sincerity.

“I know what it’s like to be affected by a curse, and unable to tell anyone, or ask for help,” Wren went on. “Perhaps it was foolish of me to project my own experiences onto you, but it seemed worth exploring.”

“I’m not angry with you, either,” Zinnia assured her, laying a hand on her sister-in-law’s arm. Her stomach felt like it was trying to leave her body and travel all on its own in the direction of the nursery. “But I really do need to retire now.”

Wren made no further effort to detain her, and Zinnia hurried from the room. As she moved toward the royal wing of the castle, her stomach unclenched slightly, making it bearable, if not comfortable. She’d just reached the nursery door when her three ball-going sisters caught up with her.

“Is it really happening right now?” Daisy asked excitedly.

Zinnia gave a tight nod. “I thought you’d be disappointed, Daisy. Your first proper ball is being cut short.”

“Disappointed?” laughed Daisy. “Two balls in one night! Besides,” she wrinkled her nose, “I wasn’t actually going to get to dance at Basil’s ball. Now I will!”

Zinnia sighed. She should know better by now than to try to dim her sisters’ enthusiasm about their strange ritual. Nothing ever did. She could only assume it was part of the delusion.

They entered the nursery to find the younger girls in the process of settling for sleep. Not very willingly, to Zinnia’s experienced eye.

“Back so early, Your Highnesses,” exclaimed their nurse, looking surprised.

“We’ll settle the younger ones tonight,” Zinnia told her, speaking as naturally as she could. She knew that once any witnesses were cleared from the nursery, the doors would seal against outsiders, and thanks to the pain in her stomach, that moment couldn’t come fast enough.

As soon as the nurse and the attendant two maids had left, words poured from Daisy’s mouth.

“Zinnia says it’s happening!”

Cries of delight filled the room, as everyone, down to four-year-old Wisteria, sprang out of bed and struggled into the nearest dress they could find. Every pair of the new dancing slippers Basil had ordered found its way onto the right feet, and eager voices whispered to each other on all sides.

“We get to go to a ball after all!”

“Finally! It’s been ages since last time.”

“Why is it only you who can tell when it’s coming?” Magnolia asked Zinnia shyly.

Zinnia tried to smile at her and couldn’t quite manage it. “My privilege as the eldest,” she informed her sister, dropping an impulsive kiss on top of the ten-year-old’s head. They were all so young, and so innocent. They might be under a magical delusion, but at least she had the small comfort of knowing none of the rest of them suffered from the compulsion enchantment, and the pain that came with it.

As if in response to a signal, they all turned to look at the floor in the center of the room. The curtains were closed against the moonlight, but the lamps were still lit, and the room glowed with a soft light that made Zinnia long to sink into the nearest bed and sleep.

But there would be no sleep tonight. Before her eyes, a trapdoor appeared in the empty stretch of floor they were all watching.

Excited rustles sounded from around her, with a few muffled squeals. But all Zinnia could see was Basil’s hurt expression at her abrupt departure, and all she could feel was weariness and grief.

“It’s time,” she said, responding to the twist in her stomach. She stepped forward and lifted the trapdoor, descending first down the narrow staircase into the darkness below. It was a long climb downward, but none of her sisters hesitated to follow, all confident of what they’d find down there.

When Zinnia reached the bottom of the stairs, the glow of the lamps above had faded. Undismayed, she raised her voice, calling to her sisters to watch their footing. At once, light flared around her, clear white beams pulsing from the crystals that grew from the walls in sporadic clusters.

Their light revealed the place where the stone floor gave way to gently lapping water. She felt so sick with the knowledge of what was coming that she couldn’t even enjoy the loosening of the pain in her midriff.

By the time she’d reached the water’s edge, the familiar small boat had floated gently up to the stone platform. She stepped into it, settling herself with a slight shiver that was only partially caused by the chill underground air. She could see the string of other boats appearing from the gloom, and heard her sisters’ excited chattering as each one boarded her own. The noise kept the crystals’ light at a constant level, so that she was easily able to observe the progress of each of the others.

“It’s amazing that it’s tonight,” Violet commented from two boats down. “After months without one. It’s like Idric knew you got home today.”

Zinnia gave a grim laugh. “Of course he knows. Don’t you think he watches us when it suits him?”

“No need to sound so sour, Zinnia,” Lilac said. “I admit he seemed terrifying that first night, but he’s done nothing but give us good things since.”

Zinnia knew there was no use, but she couldn’t help trying. “For what purpose, Lilac? Don’t you realize he must be getting something out of it?”

“Of course,” came Briar’s matter-of-fact voice from down the line. “He told us what he’s getting out of it. He wants to study human behavior, learn more about us.”

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