Page 49 of A Court Bright and Broken

The ball was off to an interesting start.

Chapter 14

Chaperone

Stellon

Leading the woman to the dance floor, I marveled at how perfectly the matchmaker’s glamour had performed, even when wielded second-hand by my brother.

All my qualms about the evening had disappeared the moment I’d laid eyes on her. She was absolutely exquisite.

The lady didn’t look quite as delighted as I felt. In fact, she looked a bit queasy.

“I have to warn you. I’m not a very good dancer,” she said.

“Everyone says that. I’m sure you’re wonderful.”

“No really,” she insisted. “I haven’t done much dancing. I’m going to step all over your toes and embarrass us both.”

Looking into her eyes, I saw sincerity—and a little fear. I also got a shock of recognition, though I was sure I’d never seen her before. I would have remembered that face.

“Just follow my lead then. This dance is a fairly simple one, the Nordica Waltz. Do you know it?”

She shook her head rapidly, looking panicked.

“It’s a good place to start,” I assured her.

We began moving together. She was, as she’d said, not very good. I guessed her clan wasn’t that into dancing.

But after a few turns around the floor, she relaxed in my arms and fell into a more comfortable rhythm.

“See? You’re wonderful.” I smiled down at her.

She returned the smile but then looked away quickly, letting her gaze roam around the ballroom and then down to the floor.

“Are we… are we dancing on top of a tank of fish?” she asked in a way that told me she’d never thought such a thing possible.

“Indeed we are, my lady.”

As a nod to Seaspire Castle’s oceanfront location and in honor of my mother’s love for all aquatic creatures, my father had commissioned an aquarium nearly the size of the ballroom to be built beneath its sturdy glass floor.

The room-sized tank featured ocean life such as jellyfish and rays, seahorses, a variety of tropical fish, a giant octopus, and even a few sharks.

The effect could be a bit disconcerting, like dancing atop the ocean itself, but the transparent ballroom floor was one of the palace’s most distinguishing features, and first-time visitors always seemed to find it fascinating.

As a boy, I’d loved to stretch out on the floor and press my face to the glass, watching the sea creatures going about their business.

They seemed so peaceful compared to the frenetic pace of palace life, I’d almost wished I’d been born a Selkie and could escape beneath the water’s surface and swim with them in their silent world.

It had always relaxed me to spend time in here—when a ball wasnotgoing on, that was. There was nothing relaxing about attending a function where you were expected to locate your eternal mate.

Tonight was turning outmuchbetter than I’d anticipated though.

“I didn’t think you’d been here before,” I said to my dancing partner. “At first I thought we might have met as children, during the last Assemblage.”

Of course that would have meant I’d met her then and forgotten, which was highly unlikely, no matter how many years it had been.

“No, you’re right. It’s my first visit to the palace,” she confirmed. “Your home is incredible. So beautiful.”

---