Page 13 of Kingdom of Dance

“And what’s wrong with that?” Violet agreed. “If he wants to throw us fabulous balls so that he can get a glimpse into human experience, I don’t mind!”

Murmurs of agreement came from down the line, and Zinnia made no attempt to respond. Her sisters were blinded, and she couldn’t blame them, not when it had been her choice to leave them oblivious. But how could she inflict the alternative on them?

An alternative she was about to experience.

She shivered again, just as her youngest sister clambered eagerly into the last boat in the line.

“Sit down quickly, Wisteria,” she called to the four-year-old, watching anxiously to make sure Wisteria complied. “And hold on, everyone.”

The words had barely left her mouth when twelve jets of blue flame burst to life in the dim cavern. Zinnia’s boat shot forward, quickly gaining a speed that made it necessary for her to lower herself right down, to protect her face from the rushing wind of her passage. They sped along the underground canal, her sisters’ boats following close behind, each vessel somehow unharmed by the flame of the boat before.

Within moments, they’d left the white glow of the crystals behind. The only light was the much eerier blue of the strange dragon flame. Zinnia didn’t attempt to look behind her, not wanting to see the ghostly appearance the unnatural light gave her sisters’ faces. Besides, she wasn’t game enough to lift her head that far. Everyone knew that dragons flew at impossible speeds, so fast the human eye could barely see. She’d even heard of dragons carrying humans on such flights, so it was obviously possible for human bodies to survive those speeds. But she’d never before heard of dragon flame being used to propel something outside itself at such velocity.

But then, there were a lot of things she’d seen Idric do that she’d never before heard of or imagined. Whether he was an anomaly among dragons, or there was simply a great deal about dragons that humans didn’t know, she couldn’t be sure.

Underground, it was impossible to tell which direction they were heading, and at the speed they were moving, it was hard to judge distance. But it was less than an hour before the boats began to slow. Soon, the tunnel opened into a large, underground lake. She heard the gasps of delight from her sisters behind her, but all her eyes could see was a simple stone platform at the far end of the lake. A large orb of pure flame hung in the air, suspended impossibly just below the ceiling of the cavern.

The boats drifted more slowly across the lake, eventually bumping gently to a stop against a stone ridge on the far side. Everyone hastened to scramble out, Zinnia following more slowly. She felt tears prick at her eyes, and blinked them angrily away. She didn’t usually give in to such emotion. But she was tired from her journey, and aching over the grief she was causing Basil. She didn’t have the strength for this ordeal tonight.

Yes, you do, she told herself firmly.Because you have to.

“Greetings, Princesses.”

Zinnia turned abruptly at the rumbling voice. She hadn’t even noticed the dark shape positioned against one wall of the cavern, so still it seemed part of the rock. The other eleven girls all curtsied, greeting Idric with appropriate respect. But Zinnia just glared at him, clutching her small act of defiance like a lifeline.

The dragon ignored all the polite words, his eyes latched on Zinnia’s upright form. “We meet again, Princess Zinnia,” he said, his reptilian lips curving upward.

Zinnia gritted her teeth, telling herself there was no sense in getting angry. She already knew what kind of creature Idric was. It was no surprise to see him take pleasure in her pain.

“The festivities await our guests of honor,” said Idric, and Zinnia wondered how it was possible for her sisters not to hear the mocking jeer in his voice.

In a flurry of curtsies, they all turned away from him, each lifting an arm into apparently thin air and walking toward the center of the space. It was surreal to see even the little girls moving gracefully forward, giggling up into nothing, and keeping their arms curled strangely at the height of their shoulders. They were being escorted, Zinnia knew, by companions who existed nowhere but in the prison Idric had created inside their minds. Albeit a glittering, lavish prison.

“Princess Zinnia,” Idric said, when they were alone. “What is that human phrase I seek? Ah, I have it—did you miss me?”

Zinnia turned back to look at him, making no attempt to hide her distaste. “I did not.”

“How short-sighted of you,” said Idric calmly, shifting slightly forward so that the light from the fiery orb above cast his reptilian features into sharper relief.

Zinnia gazed up at him, wondering how she could ever have mistaken him for Dannsair. She knew now that he wasn’t quite old enough for his scales to have gone completely black, but they didn’t look far off. Their deep burgundy was almost colorless in the low light. Bearded ridges ran along either side of his temples, and vicious-looking plates trailed down his back, ending at the tip of his tail. A tail which was currently curled catlike around his feet, showing off its cluster of lethal spikes. There was no softness in his yellow eyes, no hint that any part of him could empathize with his human companion, as Dannsair and Reka seemed able to do.

“You do not seem to realize,” Idric informed her, “the very great honor you receive in being part of such unprecedented experiments.”

“I want no part of you or your experiments,” Zinnia snapped. “As you know perfectly well.”

“And on what basis can you claim to tell me what I know?” the dragon asked. “All you know is what we have both observed. My conclusions are my own, and not something I would share with you. I could conclude from your general belligerence that you want no part of my activities. Or, I could conclude that you welcome them, from your rejection of the offer I made you the first time I called you down here.” He swiveled his head meaningfully toward her sisters, who were dancing bizarrely across the empty space, for all the world as though they were at a ball. “That offer still stands, you know.”

Zinnia swallowed. She must be more tired even than she’d realized, because for a moment she was actually tempted to submit to the delusion, to cast aside her burdens in place of sweet oblivion. But no. She was stronger than that.

“My answer is the same,” she said, lifting her head proudly. The dragon might be able to control her actions, but she wasn’t going to let him control her thoughts as well, not if she could help it.

“Shall I lift the delusion for them, then?” Idric taunted, his gaze seeming to linger on the five-year-old twins. “Perhaps they’d like to join you in your reality this evening?”

“No,” said Zinnia quickly. “There’s no need for that.”

Idric’s smile widened, a malicious glint in his eye. “You choose to stand alone once again, I see. The pride of humans.”

Zinnia didn’t answer, but Idric paid no heed. Leaping in the air, he glided across the space, not truly flying in the confined cavern, but not deigning to travel on his feet, either. He approached ten-year-old Jasmine, who was standing to one side of the area, smiling happily at nothing in particular. Even when the dragon towered right above her, Jasmine gave no sign of seeing him.

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