Page 68 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Where did you learn to dance?" she asked, hoping talking would distract her. She may have danced before, but never like this. Never with someone who was actually skilled at it. Most of the guards she had been acquainted with in Ardentol were too serious to dance, even behind closed doors.
Laurince’s gaze slipped over the crowd before falling back to her. "Rian made me take classes with him. It was one of his conditions if I ever wanted to be the captain of his guard."
"Why? Does it help you wield a sword?"
"The lessons did teach me to be more fluid with my movements, but I think he wanted to embarrass me more than anything. He thought I’d be horrible at it." He chuckled, the memory softening his features. "And at the time, I had a crush on the instructor’s daughter, who often attended the lessons."
"Oh, how cruel!" Myra said, feeling sympathy for young Laurince. She could imagine him being a lanky boy, his current stature not quite built yet, flailing around the dance floor as he tried to impress the girl. "You must have gotten better. You don’t seem too bad to me."
Laurince wore a cocky grin and said, "I never said I was bad at dancing, Haze. I’m actually quite a bit better than he is. He loathed me for it, too."
"I bet he did," Myra mused, her grin unstoppable.
His smirk turned devious, as if there was a secret hiding beneath it. He inched closer, his breath brushing her ear as he said, "I’m better at a lot of things than him, believe it or not."
Heat blossomed in the pit of her stomach. What was he doing? The question plagued her, yet she found herself leaning into whatever it was.
"Oh? Like what?" she asked, her voice thick as she leaned back. Her gaze caught on that godsforsaken dimple.
He cocked a brow. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"
His hand disappeared from her back, and he stepped back, spinning her around. Her hair floated around her, twisting around her neck. As the sweet melody continued and she felt the warmth of the nearby fire on her skin, she let herself relax.
She let herself smile.
She let herself experience her own joy.
Myra might have beendrunker than she had planned. Her footsteps were light but clumsy as she headed up the stairs. Her toe caught on the lip of a step, and she nearly fell. If it wasn’t for Laurince, she would have. Because there he was, a hand on her elbow and another on her waist, steadying her.
"Woah there. Perhaps that last drink was a mistake."
Myra waved a hand dismissively at him. "I’m perfectly fine." Once she reached the top landing, she spun around on her heel and placed her hands on her hips, triumphant. "See? Made it up in one piece."
"You should be very proud of yourself," Laurince said with a cheeky smile. "You made it up an entire flight of stairs."
Narrowing her eyes, Myra leaned forward, pointing a finger at him. "Are youmockingme?"
Laurince fell into a comical mirror of her posture with one hand on his hip, knees slightly bent. He lightly poked her in the shoulder, throwing her off balance, and her back bumped into the wall. A picture rattled behind her.
"Oh, my apologies," she said, patting the picture.
"Did you justapologizeto the wall?"
"What? Of course not," Myra said, astounded that he would even suggest such a thing. She looked over her shoulder and pointed to the couple in the gilded frame. "I apologized to Maurice and Lily."
"Maurice and Lily?"
"Mhm," she hummed with a curt nod.
When she realized what she had said, embarrassment reddened her complexion. Before she could utter some feeble explanation, Laurince did something she never would have expected from the esteemed captain.
He bowed, dramatically rolling his hand with a pompous flourish with his back parallel to the floor. "My apologies, Maurice and Lily, for I, too, am at fault for rattling you."
Laughter burst free, and before she could stop herself, a small snort escaped. Myra slapped her hand across her mouth, muffling the sound.
The corners of Laurince’s eyes crinkled as his smile widened.
A nearby door creaked open, and someone poked their head out, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. A tattoo of a dragon crawled up his neck. "Do you mind? Some of us are trying to sleep."
