Page 42 of The Mirror and the Curse

“I’m sure.” Her knee ached. It might be bleeding. But she wasn’t about to check. At the top, she immediately scrabbled with the buckle of the little harness supporting her wings. “First, I’ve got to get these stupid things off. The costume was Maria’s idea, and we bought this stuff at a craft store.”

She tossed the bedraggled, fluff-shedding wings onto one of the benches ringing the gazebo’s floor, then reached for her mask’s fastenings. But when she pulled it loose, half her hair came down with it. “Oh no!” Curls dropped over her bare shoulders and back. She stared at the mask for a moment, chuckled, and tossed it after the wings. “I spent all that money to have my hair styled and my makeup done, then covered it up with that mask. What a waste!”

While she pulled out the remaining pins and shook out the rest of her hair, she caught Kai watching her, one hand stuffing his gloves into his hip pocket. She could see him only in patches of ambient light from the ballroom’s deck and a few spotlights at the front of the castle . . . but wow, he looked good.

After removing her sky-high heels for good measure and wiggling her cramped, bruised toes, she tilted her head at the current melody streaming across the lawn. “This is a foxtrot,” she blurted. “Do you know how to foxtrot?”

He said only, “Yes.”

They met in the middle of the gazebo, faced each other, placed their hands in proper position, and he began to lead. Rather stiffly, but not too bad.

Dancing with a man her height turned out to be quite pleasant. Their strides matched, their arms were nearly the same length, and she could look into his shadowy face without getting a crick in her neck. As the tension drained from her body, her dancing improved, and she began to enjoy herself. But that song ended far too soon. The next one was a livelier tune.

“Do you know how to swing dance?” she inquired, stepping back and forth with the beat. The gazebo’s cool brick floor felt good underfoot.

“I know some moves,” he said. “My mother taught me to dance when I was little.”

“Aww, she did?” Eddi smiled. “I had to take professional dance lessons with a bunch of courtiers’ kids, and it was mostly horrid. None of the boys wanted to be there, let alone partner any of us girls, and they stepped on our toes a lot.”

“Did you dance barefoot?”

She chuckled. “If I had, I’d be missing toes now. Better watch your step!”

“I’ll do my best.”

Holding hands, they talked their way through several types of steps and twirls, and when Kai spun her in and then out again, Eddi found herself a little short of breath in a new way. They found the rhythm together, and she followed his lead easily. The darkness made everything easier since she couldn’t see his eyes except in quick flashes now and then. But she could hear him breathing, and their snatches of conversation, ordinary though they were, kept her blood rushing through her veins.

Maybe the darkness made her more aware of him than she would have been on a dance floor? Once she spun into him too hard, and her back bumped his chest. When he spun her back out, she stumbled a little. “Sorry!”

“No problem.” Yet he sounded nearly as breathless as she was. Instead of one song, the band must have played a medley of swing tunes. Eddi was too focused on dancing to pay much attention; the music was simply part of their dance. At times Kai suggested a particular move, which she performed almost without thinking. When the song ended, he held her while she did a fancy little backward dip, and then they both straightened and stepped apart, panting lightly.

“That was amazing,” Eddi stated with conviction. “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a swing dance so much before.” Or any other dance, but to tell him that would sound gushy. Her unsteady voice already betrayed too much.

“Dancing with my mom was nothing like that.” His voice held dry humor. “You’re so light on your feet.”

“You are too.” She should have guessed he would be good at dancing; he was a natural athlete. “You must have danced with someone besides your mom.”

“I think I danced once with one of my cousins at a Christmas party, under duress. I was like those boys at your dance lessons, only good for stepping on toes.” She heard the smile in his voice. Were his dimples showing? She had a sudden urge to reach out both hands and touch them. Startled by the stray thought, she took a step back.

“Do you like dancing better now?” she asked abruptly, reaching up to push hair off her face. Did he like how it looked, loose over her shoulders?

Where did that thought come from? Shocked at herself, she almost missed his answer.

“Can’t say I would enjoy it with just anyone, but you’ve definitely raised my opinion of dancing.” As a new strain of music floated through the night, he asked, “Do you need to go back inside, or would you dance one more?”

“You like dancing with me?”

“Sure. Why do you sound surprised?”

“A lot of the guys dance just to please us girls.”

“A lot of the guys would give anything to dance with you.”

Kai’s quiet observation struck Eddi dumb. This was one of the slow, romantic songs, and as soon as he took her hands in his, Eddi stepped close.

They danced without talking, making many of the same moves as before but at a slower pace. When Kai spun her into him and his arm wrapped lightly around her, she had time to savor the moment for a few beats, his warm breath on her ear, before spinning back out again. Instead of horses and hay, he smelled of some spicy aftershave.

This strange yet delightful heat inside her was something altogether new. But what did it mean? The next time Kai spun her in, she hesitated . . .

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