Page 12 of Nightmare's Dance

“In my search for our Princess, I’ve amassed quite a collection of dreambound performers. It’s become a hobby of mine to watch them. I’m told you are quite talented.”

He waved his hand, and a black set of silks tumbled from the darkness above. “Perform,” he ordered.

“No.”

He raised his eyebrows, and the smile that hadn’t left his lips deepened. “I like to play with my toys, Princess. Keep that in mind. The more willing you are, the sooner I’ll lose interest.”

“Fuck you.”

That pulled a chuckle out of him. “If nothing else, it will be entertaining to break you.”

I shivered, ignoring the silks that dangled behind me.

He stepped forward, invading my personal space and pressing something sharp against my throat. “Get in the air, now.”

“Same answer,” I replied, staring straight ahead. He could only kill me once, after all. Something told me he wasn’t ready to go that far, anyway, which made me a little bolder than I might otherwise have been.

“Sir,” someone outside of my field of view said. The voice sounded familiar. Maybe one of the jerks who had kidnapped me and Geraint? “She values the knight.”

Definitely one of those jerks. Damn them.

The sharp edge left my neck. “Bring him.”

I wanted to see Geraint, but I didn’t want him used to persuade me. “Look, I gotta pee. Then maybe I can climb for you.”

Prince Baz turned a disdainful look my way. “You can take care of your human concerns later.”

“When I get in the air, the silks will press on my stomach. My bladder is full. I’ll probably pee all over myself and your fancy silks.”

The absolute lack of concern on the prince’s face chilled me. I wasn’t even sure he actually understood what the issue was.

Before I could elaborate, two gray beings dragged my knight into the room. The contrast between him and them couldn’t have been starker. He was full of colors and life. They were gray and flat.

He struggled when he saw me, eyes wide, though I could read the relief in his expression. Bright purple bruising swelled one of his eyes shut, and a crust of blackish red flakes marred the golden stubble on his jaw where he’d bled, probably from his nose. Or maybe he had a split lip. I couldn’t tell.

The gray beings shoved Geraint to his knees. One pulled his head back by his hair and the other put his sword to my knight’s throat.

I absolutely believed they’d kill him if I didn’t cooperate. Damn it all.

“Having a weakness is the pits, isn’t it?” Prince Baz said, voice mild. “Now, dance for us, Princess.”

Praying they wouldn’t hurt Geraint, and praying that I wouldn’t piss myself while in the air, I rubbed the sweat off my hands on my pants, and awkwardly bent over to take off my shoes and socks. I doubted I’d have time to stretch or get more appropriate clothing, since they wouldn’t even let me relieve myself, so I just hoped I didn’t strain any cold muscles too much.

I stared up at the silks, wondering what they were attached to, in no way thinking I was safe, but hoping they wouldn’t want to break me or kill me just yet.

Geraint hissed in pain.

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Baz warned.

Muttering curses under my breath, I rubbed my palms on my thighs again and flexed my hands, trying to wake up my cold, tired muscles at least a little. Adrenalin was a great temporary boost, but I’d pay for it later.

I took the silks in my hand, then jerked away at the cold, clingy feeling. Had they formed from the shadow fog? Did they attach to anything?

My knight took a deeper breath, and I knew they’d hurt him again, though he’d tried to hide his reaction from me.

Not having any choice, I reached up, gripped the fabric, and lifted, twisting my feet into the silks and pushing myself higher. I climbed until I was just under the ceiling of black fog, then I inverted, crocheting my legs into the silks. Tightening my stomach, I lifted myself into the air, grabbed the silks over my knees, and pulled myself up until I was sitting with the fabric wrapped around my thighs, just under my hips.

Normally I loved setting up for a drop, the sensual climb of dancing up the silks, the burn of my muscles as I twisted my body in ways most people never even imagined, wrapping the fabric around my body, pushing myself as I put on a show. Today, I completed the moves and wraps for the drop with little grace and no enthusiasm. I had no idea if Baz would know the difference or not, but I just couldn’t bring myself to put on a show any more than I already was. Maybe it was the lack of music. Naw, had to be the kidnapping and death threats. That was a total mood killer.

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