Page 76 of A City of Flames

While Lorcan greets him back, a frown creeps up on my face recognizing that name—wait.

Memories of my time I’d gone to visit Leira at the Draggards come at full speed:

“That’s not how we speak to people, Tig. You should know that by now.” The man—Darius—had come beside me right when I’d wanted to take that goblin, to free him.

“Archer,” Tig mumbled back that day. “Always a delight when you visit.”

Putting it all together, it was him. He’d used his Merati powers, just how he’d done it not long ago in Chrysos district to everyone except me.

Blinking back into focus, I look at him. Gold chips in his eyes glisten unabashedly, allowing for only me to see as he says to us, “An exquisite evening, don’t you think?”

My lips frown, I’m glaring, and I’m mentally throwing every insult in the book at him. How is he capable of standing here when the queen is in the very same room, talking just the other day over how we’d catch him soon. Even if a Merati can trick you, do everything Darius is doing to everyone around him. The tattoos are always a giveaway. They never disappear, no matter what, but whenever I’ve been around Darius, he’d always worn gloves, except this time he isn’t, and there is no sign of tattoos? Can it be because he holds all three powers? None of it makes sense.

“What part of the city are you from?” Lorcan asks, and I can sense the slight suspicion rising in his voice.

Darius doesn’t falter, not even a little bit. “The south.” He then chuckles. “But those dragons can be a right old nuisance, can’t they?”

I cough out a laugh at the same time he says that and clear my throat as Lorcan and Darius both look at me. “So, Archer Fipps?” I crane my neck, staring at Darius. “Who named you, your father?”

“No.” He purses his lips, hiding the smile that wants to break out. “My mother.”

Annoyance blooms in my throat before he slants his head just as that smile finally comes through. “What is your name, Miss?”

Solaris be damned.

It’s inevitable. I’d hid my name from him for as long as I could, and now, he’s seen an opening to get it.

I want to tell him to stop grinning and to leave me alone. But I can’t and sensing Lorcan’s eyes on me as if wondering why I’m taking so long to say it, I give in, hating every second. “Naralía,” I mumble it bitterly.

“Nara-lee-ah,” Darius stretches out my name, rolling each syllable off the tip of his tongue. “A name one might consider royal.”

I’m about to make a comeback despite knowing that it will not help if Lorcan notices something is off—if he already can’t tell, but the tempo in music changes. It’s lighter, and people’s excitable chatter follows towards the dancefloor.

Darius’s gaze wanders to the middle, where a crystal chandelier shines down onto the floor. “Do you mind?” He says, returning to look at Lorcan and holding out his palm for me.

I don’t even glance at Lorcan. A scowl etches on my forehead, I grind my teeth as an answer enough for what Darius is implying. “Yes,” I say, grabbing Lorcan’s hand instead and feigning a smile. “He minds.” And without looking back, I let Darius’s outstretched palm hang there as I take Lorcan with me to the center of the hall.

I regret it, however, the second I stop and face Lorcan’s inquisitive gaze. I’m not one to prance, I’m almost certain I can hardly move in this dress, and Lorcan’s question does not help.

“Is there a reason you declined to dance with that man?”

Looking to the side, I watch Darius stroll to meet another woman beaming at him as she accepts his hand far too greedily. “I’m not up for dancing with strangers,” A feeble tone slips out of me as I flit my stare back to Lorcan.

He lowers a brow in caution as both of us stand still. “But that’s what this dance is all about.” Gesturing to everyone around us, the women twirl, leading them to a different partner.

Stifling an exasperating groan at my unlucky fortune, I shake my head. “This was a mistake, I don’t know this dance—”

“I’ll guide you.” He closes any distance between us, and my chest seizes up as he lifts his palm.

Watching as others use theirs as well to lightly touch their partners, I reciprocate. The smooth and soft music palpitates the hall as Lorcan nods once and begins circling with our hands still touching, leather against his calloused skin.

“People are staring at us,” I whisper as we bow together. Everyone always had a habit of staring at me in the wrong way, in the judging ways, but this one is a look of awe all around.

“They’re staring at you,” he says with a curl of his upper lip, and I almost widen my eyes at the comment. “You are the only person in gold. Archer was right; not only is your name like royalty, but you also look it.”

I get an overwhelming drop in my stomach at the mention of Archer, and I steal a glance over Lorcan’s shoulder, spotting Darius’s gaze already on us while dancing with that woman. Quickly snapping my head to Lorcan, a tight smile blooms on my lips. “What is this dance again?”

“A tradition, everyone does it on the night of Noctura ball. We switch partners with every beating of the drums.”

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