Page 93 of Kingdom of Dance

He swiveled his head back around to face her, a mocking light in his eyes. “Not that I needed their help to know the vulnerable state of your foolish heart. You are aware, though, aren’t you, that they all know of your weakness for the soldier? Your eyes follow him everywhere, they tell me. I look forward to becoming more fully acquainted with him and discovering whether the weakness is one that can be exploited both ways.”

With that parting taunt, the dragon ambled toward Lilac, leaving the two sisters standing silently by the water. Zinnia felt wave after wave of cold horror wash over her. She’d known Idric was building to something, but somehow she’d foolishly thought he’d given up on the idea of using Obsidian. Instead, it seemed that he’d dug more deeply than she’d dreamed into the connection between her and the lieutenant.

“Obsidian,” she whispered again. “I’m so sorry. What have I done?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Obsidian crouched awkwardly in the youngest princess’s boat, trying to keep his head down as the air whistled past. It couldn’t affect his invisibility enchantment, of course, but it wouldn’t be good if his enchanted cloak blew off.

He’d been lucky to make it into the nursery this time, he knew. He’d barely slipped through Zinnia’s door after her, thanks to the necessity of racing to his own rooms first to retrieve the cloak. And even having made it inside, he’d needed to be quick to follow the princesses down the narrow staircase before the trapdoor shut.

But he was here, and he was determined not to waste this second opportunity. He might not be able to tell King Basil what he was seeing, but that didn’t mean there was nothing to be gained from solving the puzzle. He had magic at his disposal—considerable magic, little as he’d ever wanted to acknowledge it. Maybe he could use it to free the princesses from their strangely pleasant prison.

As soon as the underground castle came into view, Obsidian’s eyes were drawn to the skulking figure of the enormous dark dragon. He pulled his magic more tightly around him, ensuring that his invisibility enchantment was not only still in place, but still clinging to him as it was supposed to, not letting his magical signature emanate outward from his body.

The dragon’s eyes were on Zinnia and Princess Violet, and Obsidian didn’t want to risk being near them when the beast approached. As soon as the youngest princess left her boat, he slipped onto the rocky floor himself, sidling around the edge of the water. The dragon was already moving, and Obsidian had no faith in his ability to hide his magic from such a powerful creature at close range. He glanced around for a means of escape, but there was no path out of the cavern.

He glanced uncertainly at the dark water. He’d seen the dragon dive below it the previous night, and not emerge for long periods of time. Did that mean there was an underwater tunnel? Or simply that the dragon liked to hover underwater? Did the creatures even need to breathe?

A look over his shoulder showed him that the dragon had almost reached the girls, and he decided to take a risk. Sliding into the water, he filled his lungs with air then dove. He’d expected to be virtually blind under the water, but to his surprise, as soon as he was submerged, he could see a faint luminous glow. As he propelled himself downward with sure strokes, he realized that the rocky surface below was scattered with the same crystals he’d seen in the cavern. There was no sound to be heard, but they were still aglow with every color imaginable.

He wasn’t surprised. The magic coating this whole place was so intense it was suffocating. The crystals were clearly soaked with power. They were probably perpetually lit. Their color seemed to confirm Zinnia’s guess that sound produced white light, but magic produced the rainbow he saw before him.

In the unearthly light, he could see that the underwater space was indeed a tunnel. He followed it as rapidly as he could, aware of the risk he was taking. If it didn’t lead up to air soon, he’d be finished. He was too far to make it back to his starting place.

To his great relief, the rocky sides of his tunnel began to slope upward, and just as he was reaching the limit of his breath, he caught sight of a different kind of light above him. He pushed himself upward, his head breaking the surface at last. Even as he took in gulps of air, his eyes darted around, trying to assess his new surroundings. It wouldn’t do to let his guard down.

He seemed to have emerged into an enormous lake, and he struck out for the nearest bank as quietly as possible. The moonlight was incredibly bright—he had no difficulty seeing where he was going.

It wasn’t until he pulled himself, dripping, from the bank that he realized the scene wasn’t only illuminated by the moon. He’d climbed onto a grassy slope, and a short distance from where he stood, there was a grove of trees. But they were unlike any trees he’d ever seen—the light seemed to emanate from their leaves.

“What is this place?” he muttered.

Moving forward, he reached up with an invisible hand to touch the leaves of the nearest tree. They fluttered gently in the breeze, but they didn’t feel like plants. They felt like delicate metal, carved and embossed into an intricate pattern. And yet, they clearly weren’t worked by any hand. They were growing from the tree.

Silver, he realized. The leaves were made of silver.

He had no idea how such a thing was possible, but there it was. The magic in the air was thick, and he had a suspicion that a lot of things might be possible here that would make no sense elsewhere.

He walked deeper into the grove, and after a short distance, the trees began to change. Instead of dark trunks, slender white shoots now grew all around him, gleaming in the moonlight. The leaves that peppered their slim branches were no longer silver, but a shining, gleaming gold. They glowed brightly, as if in full sun. A glittering light fell on Obsidian’s hand as he touched these leaves, and looking up, he saw yet another patch in the incredible grove. He hurried toward this third type of tree, his eyes widening as he realized that these sparkling white leaves were actual diamonds, some as big as his palm.

Where was he?

He peered through the trees, trying to get a sense of the landscape beyond. There was something familiar about the place, although he certainly hadn’t been there. Trees which grew precious metals and gemstones would be hard to forget. But why did it feel faintly like home?

He looked around. Wherever it was, it was incredibly beautiful. Everywhere he looked, his eyes feasted on color and light, in spite of it being the middle of the night. The air was thick with magic, and it settled around him like a heavy blanket. It was a little overwhelming, the heaviness that pressed on his extra sense, making it impossible to ignore the power pulsing all around. Even the very ground he walked on seemed saturated, magic surging up to meet him with every step he took. He could feel his boots cracking slightly at the contact, as if the power in the soil was too intense for the leather to handle. That was probably why his boots had looked worse for wear after his previous night’s adventure.

A gust of wind made him look up, and he froze at the sight of two dragons wheeling overhead. They swooped down to the level of the lake, dipping their wings into the water casually before pulling up and continuing their flight.

He’d seen dragons a number of times, but he’d never seen any so…playful. Suddenly it hit him. The reason this place felt familiar was because its magic was so potent, it seeped outward from it, giving a certain flavor to the areas on its outskirts. Including his home.

He was in the realm of the dragons.

The thought shocked him so much, he actually felt his invisibility enchantment waver. With a grunt of effort, he pulled it back into place, feeling sweat bead on his forehead. It was a difficult enchantment, requiring a lot of magic, and he was definitely feeling the strain of keeping it active for so long two nights in a row.

But he wasn’t about to drop it, not now that he’d discovered he was in a place where, as far as he knew, no human had set foot before him. Humans simply weren’t allowed to enter the dragons’ home. No exceptions.

Until now, at least. What would happen if he was discovered here? Feeling shaken, he started to move back toward the water, but a sudden thought stopped him. Dragons were supposed to be honorable creatures, and they’d been the ones to instigate the agreement in the first place. Then they’d kept it rigidly, for centuries. Surely the dragon who was doing…whatever he was doing with the Entolian princesses wasn’t acting with the sanction of the elders. If he could find a way to expose the rogue dragon’s activities to the other dragons, they might take care of the problem without any need for human involvement.

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