Page 92 of Kingdom of Dance

Wisteria and Ivy were both still grumbling, but they got into their boats. From her position at the front, Zinnia saw that Wisteria’s boat once again rocked alarmingly as the girl clambered in.

“Wisteria, I said be careful!” Lilac scolded.

But the little girl had no time to retort, because the boats had begun to move. Zinnia kept throwing glances back at Violet, grieving the fact that her sister was undertaking this journey in cheerful anticipation for the last time.

When they reached the underground cavern, Zinnia saw no fabulous castle. She’d already made her choice, and that fact was apparently enough to keep the delusion at bay. She hung back once she’d alighted from her boat, putting out an arm to stop Violet as well.

Violet looked at her curiously, and Zinnia drew a breath.I want her to be free of the delusion, too, she thought, to no one in particular.

At once, her sister’s expression changed. “What’s going on?” Violet asked, staring around the dark cavern. “Where are we?”

“We’re in the same place we always go,” Zinnia said quietly. Her eyes were on her other sisters’ backs as they traipsed happily up an invisible path lined with glittering bushes that existed only in their minds. All Zinnia saw was dark, cold stone. “This is the unpleasant truth I was talking about.”

Violet looked more confused than ever.

“I’m sorry, Violet,” Zinnia went on. “Sorry for letting you be duped for so long, and sorry for the pain it will cause to show you the truth. But this is what’s real.” She gestured around them. “Last night was the only time I ever saw that castle, with all the dancers. This is where we really come, and this is what I see every time. Idric doesn’t want to throw us balls. He wants to experiment on us, and maybe just watch us squirm, I don’t know.”

“A little of both.” A rumbling voice, like stone scraping against stone, made both sisters jump. “I see you’ve decided to bring one of your sisters with you,” Idric said, his gaze resting on Violet. “Her spark is strong as well. Perhaps I will see what I can achieve with her.”

“There’s no need for that,” Zinnia said quickly, trying not to dwell on the terrified expression on her sister’s face. “We both know that you can’t remove or damage our sparks. Why try?”

“To watch you squirm, of course,” the dragon echoed her words. But he spoke almost lightly, without the vicious glint she’d sometimes seen in his eye. “I have other priorities at present, though,” he said. “I’d like to know why you feel you escaped the fate of being part of Prince Amell’s upcoming wedding bya hairsbreadth, as you put it.”

Zinnia’s mouth fell open. The dragon’s words were an accurate representation of how she felt, but she had no memory of uttering them. “What do you know about Amell’s wedding?” she demanded. “Or my feelings about it?”

“You were quite expansive last night,” said Idric, a smug gleam in his eyes. “Very helpful.”

Horror washed over Zinnia. She still had only very hazy memories from the night before, but catches floated past her awareness. How could she have been so weak as to give in to the delusion? She’d carefully avoided giving Idric any useful information for a year and a half—with the exception of her slip regarding Obsidian—why had she given him fuel now?

“What did I say?” she asked warily.

Idric’s smile just grew.

“What do you care if Zinnia doesn’t want to marry Amell?” demanded Violet, who seemed to have recovered some of her poise. “Basil would never make her do it, even if Amell wasn’t betrothed to the Alburian princess.”

Zinnia grasped her sister’s arm in warning. She appreciated Violet’s spirit in wanting to defend her, but the younger girl had no concept of how careful they had to be around Idric.

“I care, Princess,” at least Idric sounded amused rather than angry, “because I’ve become quite attached to your sister. Not in fondness, you understand. She has defied me with a vigor which, in honesty, is almost as impressive as it is futile. I have formed a desire to see her at the heart of my plans for your little human kingdoms.”

“What plans?” Violet’s face was devoid of color now.

Idric’s rumbling laugh rebounded off the stone walls around them. He made no answer.

“He’s not going to tell us that,” Zinnia said wearily. “But he’s been plotting something big against Entolia for months. Maybe years.”

“As always, human, you think too small,” the dragon said comfortably. “Now.” His eyes narrowed. “Tell me more about your feelings for this…Amell.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Zinnia said fiercely. “And neither is Violet.”

The dragon still looked amused. “As always, your defiance achieves nothing, Princess. The plan is set—I merely explore details now. The only piece missing is your beloved soldier, that embittered enchanter you so kindly brought to my attention. And he will soon be within my grasp as well.”

“Obsidian.” The name slipped through Zinnia’s white lips in a whisper, without her permission. “Leave him out of this.”

“Out of it?” The dragon actually threw his head back in mirth. “He is at the heart of it, like you, Princess.”

“He won’t help you,” Zinnia said fiercely. “He’s loyal—he would never have any part of your magic, or your schemes.”

“Wouldn’t he?” the dragon asked indulgently. “We will see.” He turned away. “Since you don’t seem inclined to speak with me, I will ask your other sisters. They never seem to mind sharing intimate details with me.”

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