Page 77 of The Heir's Bargain

I scoffed. "She's not too happy since she no longer gets to. She's pretty upset about it, actually. She's been shaking with anger ever since you arrived."

"Has she now?" Dani asked, eyes lit with amusement.

"Mhm."

"She must be upset that she can't show off her dress, huh?"

I laughed, my head throwing back as my hands gripped Dani's waist tighter, keeping me steady. "Have you adopted a second ability all of a sudden?"

Dani snorted. "Fynn, no one needs an ability to read Rosalina's mind. She may be pretty, but she's not very subtle."

"My mother said the same thing," I murmured, the laugh lines flattening.

Dani continued, "I still can't believe your mother would want you to be with her. I mean, after what she and your father had?"

I spun Dani, twirling her away as I straightened my countenance. "She only wants me to be happy."

Dani offered me a sad, knowing smile.

While the memories with my father were few and far between, the relationship he and my mother had was one that was hard to forget. Seeing them in the mornings at the breakfast table, my father pouring my mother her tea, giving her light kisses on her cheek. The way my mother would squeeze his shoulder as he worked in his office, hunched over towering stacks of formal requests from across the kingdom. How they would hold each other's hands as they walked through the park with us children in tow. Most parents hid any soft touch from their children, but my parents never did. Their love for each other was on full display for the entire kingdom to witness.

Perhaps that was what made my father's loss even harder to bear than it already was. As soul bonds, they were two halves of a whole, but one not less than the other. Two complete people who, once together, enhanced the other's gifts, the other's soul, the other's life.

That's what I wanted.

A partner for life.

The inexplicable joy that came with finding the person one's heart sang for. The person that, no matter how dark the clouds were or how long the storm was, could make the sun appear with just one glance.

I might not have had a soul bond, but looking down at Dani, I was still one of the lucky ones.

A forest burned bright within Dani's gaze. The yellow flecks in her irises were flames against the surrounding green. Her fingers danced atop my shoulders, and she cleared her throat, the fire in her eyes simmering. "Well, are you going to lead, or do I have to do all the work here?"

I smiled—the first true, genuine smile of the night. Even though thoughts of my father were now swirling in my mind, Dani had a way of easing the pain.

"And miss out on my one chance to lead one of the famous Ferrioses? The future of our military? I don't think so."

Dani’s dress swept across the floor as my feet followed the steps, without more than a passing thought. These steps were engraved into my very soul ages ago.

It should have been awkward to dance with Dani, but I knew her like I knew my own mind. She was unpredictable at times. But if you watched her closely, you could see the change in emotion flick across her eyes. You could see her mind at work as she took in the scene before her.

Even now, as hundreds of people watched us, she had a way of carrying herself that was addictive. It made you want to be inside of her mind, to know what she was thinking.

And there was one thing I couldn't go another minute without knowing the answer to.

"Did you arrive with your mother and father?"

I could almost taste the lie on the tip of her tongue as she dropped her gaze.

I hummed. "So, you weren't late."

Dani worked her lip, her teeth scraping across it. "I?—"

My fingers flexed on her back. "Dani, if you're going to keep your shields up, at least do me the decency of not lying to my face."

Her shoulders sagged, the muscles in her back loosening with the movement. "I didn't know if I wanted to come," she finally admitted.

"Because of the dress? I told you if you didn't like it, we could have?—"

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