Page 6 of Kingdom of Dance

“Zinnia!” he said gladly, reaching out and gripping her arm. “I’m glad to see you back.”

“Not as glad as I am,” said Zinnia. “I feel like I’ve been on the road for a year.” She pinned him with a look. “Remind me again why I had to attend the christening of the Alburian prince in your place?”

“Because,” Basil informed her solemnly, “one of the downsides of being king is that there are always too many demands on my time to allow for unnecessary journeys.” His serious expression morphed into a grin. “And because one of the benefits of being king is that I can order someone else to go in my place to any event I don’t especially fancy attending.”

Zinnia grunted, unimpressed. “Try ordering me to do anything,Your Majesty, and see how it goes.”

A scandalized gasp from behind her informed Zinnia that her chaperone had entered the castle. Zinnia ignored the sound—Basil certainly didn’t look offended. And Zinnia was sure he wouldn’t begrudge her the appearance of dignity. They both knew that however nicely he’d phrased it, his request for her to travel to Albury in his placehadeffectively been an order. This reality rankled a little with Zinnia, but at least her brother had the decency not to point it out. As maddeningly stubborn as he was at times, he never put on airs.

“I wouldn’t dare,” was his light reply, as he offered her his arm.

Zinnia took it, sharing a secret grin with the young king over the continued clucking of the matron behind them.

“So how was the christening?” Basil asked.

“It was…” Zinnia shrugged. “Exactly what you’d expect such an event to be. The baby was the normal level of cute, everyone was happy.”

“Any dragons there?” Basil asked curiously.

Zinnia nodded, taking a moment to compose the frustration that rose in her at the memory. “Dannsair and Rekavidur. I think Queen Felicity invited Reka, and he brought Dannsair along.”

“That would have made you happy,” Basil said encouragingly.

Zinnia remained silent. Even if she’d been free to speak, it would have been hard to know what to say. Once, she’d always been delighted to see the dragons she considered friends. But now her reactions were more complicated. It wasn’t that their behavior had changed—they were the same as ever. But their presence brought with it the agonizing frustration of knowing their power but being unable to solicit their help.

She’d been so sure, the first time they’d come after her disastrous clifftop encounter with the enormous dragon—Idric—that they would be able to free her from the consequences of her mistake. But far from helping her out of her entanglement, they had shown no sign of even being able to sense the magic binding her.

That frightened her more than all the rest. Just how strong was the magic of the dragon she’d unintentionally made her enemy?

She shook off the thought. She was far from the carefree, foolish girl who’d run afoul of Idric on that eventful night. She was much stronger now, and much more savvy. And she knew better than to give power to thoughts of despair.

Determined to be cheerful, she cast around for some other aspect of the christening to talk about. “Oh, I saw Amell. His mysterious princess was there, too. She’s very beautiful and seemed to be a bit of a sweetheart.”

Basil smiled, clearly understanding what she hadn’t said. “With the patience to put up with Amell, then. Unlike you.”

Zinnia nudged him with her shoulder. “Precisely. He was full of invitations for their wedding in a few months. Are you planning to go?”

“I’m hoping to manage it,” Basil answered. “We might not get to see much of each other anymore, but I still consider Amell one of my closest friends.”

Zinnia nodded. “The Alburian royals will be there, of course, given Princess Aurelia is the king’s brother. And Amell has definitely invited the Listernians and the Bansfordians as well, although I don’t know if they’ll come. It could be quite the royal convention.”

Basil smiled. “Sounds like fun. Most of them came to Wren’s and my wedding, so I imagine they’ll do no less for a union between Albury and Fernedell.”

Nodding, Zinnia glanced to her left and released a breath as she took in the sight of the ocean through the windows that lined the corridor.Nowshe was home. As much as she’d like to support Amell, she didn’t feel much inclination to go on another journey so soon. She’d probably need to stay behind with her sisters, anyway, if Basil and Wren were to attend.

“Where are we going?” she asked her brother, looking ahead. Basil had already lingered with her longer than she’d expected.

“To the nursery,” said Basil, still using the old name for the room that had long since ceased to house any infants. “The girls are all eager to see you.”

“I do know my way, you know,” Zinnia informed him, amused.

Basil shot her a look that was hard to read. “I’m not showing you the way. I thought I’d join you, hear more about your trip.”

Zinnia stared at him. “But don’t you have a hundred things to do?”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” Basil told her calmly. “I cleared my schedule when we received word that you’d be home today. It’s been far too long since we’ve had the chance to really catch up.”

“But…”

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