Page 88 of Bloodguard

Then he comes alive, moving with exuberance and athleticism becoming of a Bloodguard as the music speeds up.

My gaze bounces from our feet to his face.

“Don’t be too impressed, Princess. This is the only dance my mother taught me.”

Leith leans into me, and without thinking, I rest my head on his shoulder. But when I realize what I’ve done, I try to pull away.

“Don’t,” Leith tells me, holding me close.

I swallow with great difficulty. “But everyone will see,” I remind him.

“Let them see,” he says.

And they do.

Leith leads me along, and I follow every motion, relishing the feeling of being held in his strong arms.

I need you, I want to say.

Please don’t leave, I wish to beg.

His full attention is on me, and it’s as if we are the only two people in the world as everything and everyone else fade away.

It takes Giselle jerking away from Caelen with a gasp to pull me back to reality.

My body tenses when she backs away from him and that irritating charge crackles against my skin.

Caelen is at her heels as she strides toward the door. “What is it?” he asks. “Did I hurt you?”

She looks at him, her eyes wide with stark fear.

“I think I’m going to explode,” she whispers.

Caelen pulls her close, circling her waist with his arm and quickly leading her away.

“Sorry. Too much wine. I need to walk it off,” she stammers to the rest of us as they go.

Pega hurries after them, stopping dead when the strings on Father’s large lute thrum an awkward chord caused by the vibrations from Giselle’s uncontrolled magic as she passes—but only for a second. She would never admit it, but anyone can see she’s grown protective of the younger woman.

Father sets down his lute and follows them, too.

Giselle and Caelen’s abrupt departure takes our cheer with them.

Pasha and Musy can read a room. As the tension muddles the air, they bustle back into the kitchen with Sonu to finish the final preparations for supper. Leith holds me, easing my growing anxiety.

Father returns far more quickly than I’d expect, his skin flushed and wrinkles deepening along the creases of his eyes.

“Father… Did something happen to Giselle?” I ask.

He shakes his head slowly. “It’s not that. We have company. Vitor and Soro are here.”

chapter 32

Maeve

I instinctively release Leith and take several steps back.

He straightens. “Can you make it to the cottage?”

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