Page 108 of Kingdom of Dance

Zinnia stared at him, suddenly overwhelmed by her helplessness. He was so happy, aglow with the promise of the next day, with no idea that his wedding could turn out to be a massacre, or the scene of a new and horrifying curse. And she had no way to even warn him, let alone stop whatever was coming.

“Obsidian was planning to attend the wedding, actually,” she blurted out. “I thought he’d be here by now.”

Amell and Basil both turned to her, looking equally surprised.

“Lieutenant Obsidian is coming here?” Basil asked. He didn’t voice the obvious addition—that he hadn’t invited the enchanter to form part of the delegation.

“I’ll be glad to see him again,” Amell said lightly, clearly sensing the siblings’ need for private conversation. “I’ll have the guards look out for him and let him in as soon as he arrives.”

With that the prince took himself off, leaving Basil watching Zinnia with searching eyes. “Why is Obsidian coming here, Zinnia?”

“Because…” She made a helpless gesture, knowing she wouldn’t be able to properly explain. “Because I wanted him here, and he wanted to come.”

“Why didn’t he ask to be included, then?” Basil demanded. “I would have said yes.”

“Maybe we should have done that,” Zinnia agreed.

“We?” Basil leaned forward in his seat. “Zinnia, what’s going on?”

Desperation washed over Zinnia as she was hit afresh with the realization of how much danger they were all in. She opened her mouth to tell Basil of the threat, to give some tiny hint, but no words would come. Idric’s magic was too intricately woven around her.

Basil was still watching her expectantly, and she searched her mind for something she could say.

“I think I may have become a little too fond of our resident brooding soldier-enchanter,” she admitted, staring at the napkin in her lap.

“That isn’t exactly news to me,” said Basil dryly. His voice softened as he searched her face. “And I don’t mind at all, you know. Since I have the distinct impression that he’s grown a little too fond of you as well.”

Zinnia raised her eyes to her brother’s. “You really don’t mind?” she asked, a painful bubble of something suspiciously like hope inflating in her chest. “Even though he’s not a prince, or a duke, or anything like that?”

Basil gave an un-kingly snort. “I think you may be confusing me with Father,” he said, with a touch of sadness. He smiled at her. “Obsidian is a good man, which is all I’m interested in.” His expression turned serious. “He’s carrying a lot of pain from everything he’s experienced, you know. If you tie yourself to him, you’ll have to help him work through it. It won’t go away all at once, if ever.”

Zinnia gave a twisted smile. “I know. And that doesn’t intimidate me.” She didn’t say it aloud, of course—she couldn’t—but she knew she was carrying a great deal of her own trauma. Whether that would make it easier or harder for her and Obsidian to fight off their demons together, she didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. She would face much more than that for the chance of a future with her soldier.

But those thoughts were dangerous. They painted a picture of a future that was still painfully out of reach, and she couldn’t afford to become distracted.

“This is all very nice,” Violet interjected, from Zinnia’s other side. She pinned her brother with a mock glare. “When are you going to hire a dashing suitor to move into the castle and romanceme, Basil?”

Their brother gave another snort, tossing off the contents of his goblet. “Most likely never, and certainly not while you’re fifteen.”

“Sixteen in a month,” Violet reminded him with a grin.

He just laughed, before his attention was caught by his wife strolling back over. Under cover of their distraction, Violet turned to Zinnia, the smile dropping instantly from her lips.

“It’s awful, isn’t it? Knowing, but not being able to tell anyone, or warn them at all.”

Zinnia nodded, a lump rising in her throat as she once again searched the room fruitlessly. “It’s agonizing.”

She didn’t give up hope of Obsidian making a late appearance until she slipped into bed, past midnight. She’d still seen no sign of him. It made her uneasy, as if she needed more to be worried about. What would have kept him?

She slept only fitfully, waking with the dawn. She and Violet were sharing a suite, and her sister looked no better rested than she was. The wedding was to begin shortly before noon, and the morning was whiled away in preparation. If Obsidian had arrived, Zinnia heard no hint of it.

“He’ll be here,” Violet told her, as she made a few last adjustments to the elaborate style a maid had created in Zinnia’s hair. “We’ve all seen the way his eyes follow you. He won’t stay away when you might be in danger.”

“If I thought I was the one in danger, I’d be less anxious,” said Zinnia miserably. “It’s everyone else I’m worried about.”

She and Violet met Basil and Wren in the corridor, traveling together to the castle’s enormous ballroom, where the wedding was to be held. The space was so lavishly decorated, Zinnia felt almost blinded. Colors exploded from every side, and seats filled the space completely, with the exception of a long aisle leading up to the dais where musicians would sit at a ball. Flowers dotted the room, and even Amell, waiting eagerly on the dais beside his father, was dressed in the deep green of a forest glade. She glanced up, awed by how far above her the rafters were. The room could probably fit the whole three-story building of Tola’s Enchanters’ Guild in it.

“It’s a far cry from a few heartfelt words on a clifftop, isn’t it?” Basil muttered to his wife. Wren smiled, clearly remembering their own wedding, and Zinnia nodded. Although she could see the beauty of the lavish scene before her, she also preferred the simplicity of the clifftop ceremony which had marked Basil and Wren’s union.

---