Page 89 of Glass Hearts
“You danced with many women that evening, my prince.” She giggles. “If I do recall, you hadn’t come on to me as strongly as the princes. I thought you didn’t particularly care for me.”
“Self-preservation,” I say. She raises a disbelieving eyebrow. “Vixen, you are a sin to all my senses. I have never yearned for a woman I never knew. You scared me, especially since my brothers felt the same pull. You see, I have danced with many women over the years. None have captivated me the way youdo, the way you continuously do. I hope to never find any other dance partners for the future.”
She stops the dance and kisses me tenderly.
“That’s it, I am cutting in!” Grayer announces loudly, breaking our kiss.
“I thought you said you don’t dance, my dark prince?” She laughs as she takes his hand. He kisses the top of her hand and bows.
“I don’t” He winks at her. “But for you, I will dance all night if it means having you in my arms.” He pulls her in as they begin their slow dance. Indeed, I have never seen Grayer dance with anyone. We all knew he knew how to, part of our training and all that. It warms my heart to see how she has already changed our stony hearts for the better.
I feel the need to fight less, even though I would love for her to tend to me more. Archer actually smiles again, and is excited to help in ruling. Koi is more relaxed, not having to worry about the mental health of his brother.
“I am not sure what we are going to find when we get back to the castle. Yet I can’t help feeling hopeful that this is what our life could be like,” Koi says next to me. “But… What if we are just endangering her more by bringing her with us when we try to take back control?”
“I have been pondering that too, Koi,” Archer says to the other side of me as we continue to sip and drink, watching Grayer and Arabella sway, talk, and laugh. “I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to convince her to stay here while we handle everything. But with Elora possibly in the castle, I doubt she will just sit back. It’s why I love her, but also why I want to riot.”
Our brave girl really is so fearless; her love knows no bounds when it comes to Miss Elora. I hope we will be added to that list. What a privilege it would be to be loved by her.
“That’s why we need to solidify the plan. The mercenaries said they would meet us early for breakfast. I agree we need to keep Arabella far from Bernice and Victor. I don’t think Gray will let her out of his sight though, so we will have to factor in that it may just be the three of us against Victor. Not that I am upset about that, I would rather one of us be with her.”
“That’s what scares me, Sy. He… he would sacrifice himself for her in a heartbeat. Not saying that I wouldn’t do the same thing. But plan A for him will always be Arabella, even if there is another possible alternative. What if I—we—lose them both?” The hypothetical seems to destroy Koi.
I rest my hand on his shoulder, trying to offer some comfort to my friend. His worry is quite valid, and judging by the furrowed brow on Archer, he agrees with Koi’s assessment of Grayer.
Gray is twirling her mercilessly to music, I hear Arabella shout over laughter. “Gray! You’re making me so dizzy!”
Archer snorts and sets his drink on the counter. “I think that’s my cue to save my princess from that Neanderthal.”
The night continues with drinks, more desserts for our love, dances and endless conversations. It’s perfect, like home.
Arabella
I am falling in love.
The words have nearly slipped out more than once, hovering just behind my teeth, aching to be spoken. I know in my heart of hearts that it is true. I knew before this evening with their kind gesture of trying to romance me.But why can’t I seem to say it back?
Koi twirls me into another song, his hand steady at my back, laughter dancing in his eyes. My feet ache, a dull throb with every step, but I barely notice. Their warmth surrounds me, their attention like sunlight, and for once, I let myself soak it in.
In the corner, the barmaid hides a yawn behind her hand. The band stumbles over a few notes, the fiddle lagging behind the drumbeat. We’ve clearly outlasted the night.
“Koi?”
“Yes, my love?” He pulls me in tighter to his chest.
“As much as I don’t want this evening to end, I-I think it’s time we made our departure. The poor band has been glaring at us for the last hour.”
“They are, aren’t they?” He snorts. “We can’t have that, can we? Though I don’t think the evening is over just yet, Sunshine.”
Before I can ask what he means, he already has me over his shoulder like a sack of flour. I lightly punch his strong back as I scream for him to let me down.
“Koi, dammit, set me down this instant!” Doesn’t have the same sincerity when I am also laughing.
“Shall we, Brothers?” Koi asks devilishly while the other princes laugh. I fake a glare at the princes as I see them thanking and saying goodnight to the restaurant attendants and band.
Koi takes the stairs to our room two at a time to reach our room swiftly.
“Put me down, you mongrel!”
