Page 111 of Enchanted Kingdom
“Yet oh so different,” I added as we began moving with the music.
“You mean you actually do like me this time around?”
I burst out laughing. “Yes. That.”
He smirked. “Are you doing okay?”
“Lots of whispers, but okay,” I admitted.
“Shall we really give them something to whisper about and prove to them that a Nerede woman can dance?” Keir asked, challenge in his eyes.
“Aren’t we right now?” I asked confused.
He picked up speed and I understood what he was asking. He wanted to show off a little. To show them that I could keep up.
“If you drop me on purpose, Keir,” I warned.
“Then what?”
“I don’t know what, but it is obviouslynotgood. Considering I know where you sleep.”
He tipped his head back to laugh.
It made me happy to see him laugh so freely with me. I had watched all of his other dances and I thought that was something we had that set us apart. Hopefully some of the others noted it as well.
As our song wound down, I found I was feeling out of breath and like I didn’t want to drag my eyes away from Keir’s. For a few minutes in there, I had forgotten all about the king. All about the looming danger of having Iron Will. For that one beautiful song, it had been just us.
“There’s still a lot of night left. I’ll probably dismiss you all around midnight and then the party will continue, just a heads up.” He added softly. “You’ve done so well tonight.”
I wasn’t so sure. “I have?”
He grinned. “You have.”
I bowed and left to find my friends.
I found Renna with her family and was going to leave her alone, but she waved me over.
“Mom and Dad, this is Jorah.”
“Please call me Summer.” Her mother hugged me, as if she already knew me. She obviously also did not care what level of the kingdom I came from. Looking at her parents, I wasn’t completely sure where Renna got her beauty from; her parents were both attractive in their own way.
Her dad gave me a nod and a smile while I was still stuck in a hug with his wife. “My name is Leon.”
“And these,” Renna stated as she gently shoved some girls that had to be no more than fifteen, “are my sisters, Emma and Lennix.” She added after looking around, “Kallon is probably somewhere around here flirting with a girl.”
Leon snorted. “So long as it isn’t a girl in red or beige.”
I burst out laughing, not having expected him to say that. I covered my mouth realizing how rude I was. “Sorry.”
Summer reached out to touch my shoulder. “Nonsense. Anyone who actually does laugh at his comments is welcomed.”
“Please stay with us forever,” Lennix deadpanned.
That made me snicker again. For the next hour or so, I chatted with her family. Her sisters seemed to be taking everything in, but Renna’s parents were fun. And seemed to also truly like one another.
It was that moment a pang of grief hit me like a wave. I missed my father. I missed watching him interact with my mother. And I still looked for him and wanted to tell him things, even though I knew he wasn’t there anymore. I had been so busy lately that it had kind of snuck up on me. I hadn’t forgotten how he’d died or why I had hated all Enchanted to begin with, I just missed my father. I kept storing up all this love to give him with nothing to apply it to. So I was just stuck in this vicious cycle of missing him but there being nothing I could do about it.
We weren’t dismissed for three more hours. By the end of it, I had chatted with a few more families, mostly the ones Renna’s family introduced me to. I didn’t know where Renna’s family fell on the king’s list of most loyal subjects, but I couldn’t believe a family as kind as they were would rank high.
