Page 85 of Kingdom of Dance

It was the most bizarre twist of this whole bizarre mission.

Even Zinnia had seemed to enjoy the ball. What was eating away at her if her secret was something so innocuous?

It was a comfort, at least, that his invisibility enchantment had held. He wasn’t confident of his ability to mask it from the dragon, so he’d hung back while the beast was around. It had surprised him to see the enormous creature coming and going, rather than staying in the vicinity of the castle all night. More than once, the dragon had dived under the water, disappearing for a long stretch of time.

In one of those stretches, Obsidian had dared to venture into the castle and had seen the dancing. It was a fabulous sight, that much he had to acknowledge. He toyed with the fabric of his enchanted cloak as he crouched in Princess Wisteria’s speeding boat. Hopefully no one would notice that in spite of the girl’s tiny stature, her boat was sitting lowest in the water out of any of them.

There was one mystery that played with his mind the most, in spite of knowing it was immaterial in the bigger picture.

Why had Princess Zinnia said his name? He’d barely been able to see her through the dancers, but he’d definitely heard her familiar voice. For a moment, he thought his disguise had failed, but the invisibility enchantment was still in place. Master Enchanter Hughes’ advice had proven valuable.

How in Solstice would he explain all this to King Basil?

He had to be quick to follow the princesses up through the trapdoor. It was with relief that he emerged into the bedroom of the younger girls. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in the strange underground world.

There wasn’t much conversation as the princesses prepared for bed, the younger ones barely stirring as their older sisters readied them.

Obsidian slipped from the room, back through the other suites, the way he’d come. When he glanced back at the nursery door, he saw again that strange lock. He shook his head, picturing how the door had looked when he’d first run up to it, in Zinnia’s wake. He’d already been under the invisibility enchantment but had merely been carrying Prince Amell’s cloak. The door was shut fast, and he could see no way of opening it. When he’d donned the cloak, however, a large silver lock had appeared. Turning it was a simple matter, and he’d opened the door cautiously, in time to see the last of the princesses disappearing into a trapdoor that shouldn’t have existed.

Releasing the invisibility enchantment, Obsidian settled himself back on the chair in Zinnia’s suite, lolling his head forward and forcing himself to breathe slowly and deeply. It didn’t help that the sound of her soft steps made his heart race. He understood now what she’d been up to with her strangely alluring behavior earlier. When he realized she was slipping something into his drink, it became fairly obvious. And it was no great feat to pretend to drink without actually swallowing anything.

But knowing her intention hadn’t changed the way his heart and body had reacted when she’d moved close to him, looked at him in that unreadable way—touched his face. His jaw still burned at the memory of that gentle brush. For a moment, he’d thought she was going to kiss him. She hadn’t, of course.

He felt the phantom touch of her hand on his hair and heard again the things she’d said while she thought he was unconscious.

Shewas worried abouthissafety? Even while it did strange things to his heart, the idea seemed all backward. She was the one who was in danger.

But was she? In danger of what—dancing herself to death?

Obsidian’s musings were cut short as he sensed Zinnia approaching. She hovered before him, presumably wondering what to do about his unconscious bulk. Groaning softly, Obsidian shifted in his chair.

“Lieutenant?” Her voice was strangely hesitant, and it wasn’t lost on him that she’d reverted to his title.

Pasting on a bewildered expression, Obsidian opened his eyes marginally.

“Princess Zinnia? What…?” He looked around, feigning disorientation. “Did I—” He allowed his eyes to snap open as if suddenly regaining awareness. “Did I fall asleep? In your rooms?” False mortification crept into his voice. “I apologize.”

“No need,” she said lightly. “You were obviously exhausted—I couldn’t rouse you. So I went and slept in Violet’s rooms with her, to keep things…decent.”

The familiar bitter taste poured off her, although of course Obsidian didn’t need it to recognize the lie.

“But it’s probably not a bad idea for you to take the alternative exit we both know about,” Zinnia was continuing blithely. “Just to avoid misunderstandings on the part of the servants.”

She looked pointedly at the window, and Obsidian nodded, still pretending to be embarrassed. The guards would know he’d never left her rooms, but hopefully the servants wouldn’t realize. It was fortunate that the hedging enchantment on the window didn’t prevent anyone from exiting.

When he lowered himself onto the ledge, he could see from the sky that dawn was only an hour or so off. He crept along the cliff, reaching the shore before the sky had begun to lighten. He had plenty to occupy his thoughts while he waited for a reasonable hour to approach the city gate. Exhaustion tugged at him, reminding him that he could ill afford a sleepless night immediately after his journey.

By the time he deemed it unsuspicious to enter Tola, he was bursting with impatience. There was no doubt in his mind that King Basil would want an immediate report. Not asking for directions this time, he hurried through the castle, the crimson cloak billowing behind him. The guards standing outside the king’s study looked disapprovingly at his disheveled state, and before he could insist that they grant him entry, the door opened, and a familiar figure stepped out.

“Master Enchanter Hughes,” said Obsidian blankly.

The older enchanter cast a surprised look over Obsidian. “Lieutenant.”

It was on the tip of Obsidian’s tongue to ask what he was doing in the king’s study, but he curbed the question. It was none of his business, and it wasn’t important compared to his own errand. The enchanter had already walked past him when another consideration occurred to Obsidian, and he followed the man down the corridor.

“Master Hughes.”

The older man turned inquiringly.

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