Page 62 of Shadows and Flames
Leaned into my seat with a full belly, I tapped my foot along to the jaunty tune. The song was poetic yet not overtly so, and several stepped along to the melodies with varying levels of rhythm. It was no comparison to the cool, dry nights underneath the blanket of Zonoran stars. Bodies moving with expert steps around flames swirling in a coordinated dance. Where the food was hot, the flavors were deep, and I was embraced into a family with no question. I’d only visited once, taking my acolyte leave with Leandro and Elián to see their mother and her family.
The next year, all those we’d danced and sung with were dead.
I smiled sadly, listening to the music, and as if our minds had gone to the same place, Elián turned to Meline. “Would you like to dance, my queen?”
After doing a stunning impression of an owl, she twisted in her seat, eyeing the writhing bodies surrounding the source of the music. The lute player’s fingers were fierce as the drummer pounded at the instrument nestled between her legs. Fine music to move to.
“Ah…”
I thought for a moment she’d reject my brother’s offer, one I knew he did not give lightly. But, eventually, she threw her shoulders back and stood.
The two of them went off, passing by tables until they were amongst the other dancers. The tavern itself wasn’t particularly large—just an old wooden structure overlooking the water and ships passing through. Inside, with travelers and citizens packed together in the name of merriment, the energy was an animated thing.
To the witch, I asked, “Will you be going with them? After this?”
Nogón and I were used to this. Spending days or weeks alongside each other, then having months with nothing but written correspondence between us. The life of an active Shadow was a busy one, and though we’d spent these three years working toward the common goal of his healing and finding the love he lost, I was more than prepared to strike out on my own again.
The witch and queen, though, were attached at the hip, from what I gathered.
“I…”
We both faced the crowd, the music, and our companions as they swayed. Their cadence was slower than those around them, more intimate yet somehow also in time.
“I don’t think so.”
Huh. Though her words suggested ambivalence, they were said with a steady tone.
“Doessheknow that?” Because I’d also gathered that the dependence was not one-sided. Whatever guidance Meline provided, her cousin provided a gentle steadiness. While one was direct, the other provided a warm solace.
“I don’t need her permission to go my own way,” she bit, and I turned to face her.
“Plucked a nerve, didn’t I?”
The witch wouldn’t admit to it, but the blush that darkened her brown skin surely did. “We are more like sisters than cousins, joined forever. We do not need to be in each other’s presence for her to know that I will always be there for her. When I’ve needed saving, instruction, she’s been there. When she’s needed soothing,support, as she lost him and everyone, I’ve been there. Distance will only strengthen that.”
I hummed and tipped my tankard back, drinking the last bits of ale.
“What?”
As intimidating as she thought she was, the threatening tone was blunted by her bright eyes and golden hair. “I’m not the one to convince of that, love. I’ve not a care whether you and your sister remain on good terms as you inevitably move on with your lives. She lost him,” I nodded toward them on the dance floor, “but she’s found him again. Time for a new adventure for both of you.”
“I don’t mean h—” she immediately fought my assessment but cut herself off. Another bit of tension straightened her spine.
Eyes narrowed, I filed away the apparent slip. “Well. For your sake, I hope you already have your next venture squared away. Because they,” I nodded toward Nogón and Meline, “will certainly want time and space to acclimate to a life together once this is over tomorrow.”
“You—” she whirled around to me then stood so fast her chair tipped over and crashed to the floor. Which, seemed a bit dramatic for receiving a fair nugget of advice. I thoroughly enjoyed giving my brother a hard time, but even I knew when to pull back. And for them to give their connection a fighting chance, perhaps even a potential mating, they would need more than a few stolen moments together on a cramped ship or on a dance floor.
But, as I tracked the witch shoving her way to my brother and his queen, it seemed the moment would be even shorter lived than I’d thought. Because she grabbed her cousin’s arm, jostling her to awareness and clearing the contented haze. I slowly stood, fingers twitching, as I watched them share harsh words, too low for me to hear, and with a narrowed glance at Elián, Meline caressed his chest and darted toward the exit with Tana.
Elián and I met in the middle, both our steps more of a prowl than the lazy strolling we’d had after our kills this eve. My brother seemed far from upset that his dance was interrupted, though.
“They are leaving to get to him first.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
MELINE
Dancing.
