Page 5 of Blood and Fate

His eyes widened the slightest bit, his mouth in a line. But it was the only indication that he had noticed anything.

“What was that?” she hissed through her teeth in an alarmed whisper.

He dipped his head toward her, his voice loud enough for only her to hear, “I don’t know. Though, I expect it was something to do with whatever the connection between us is.”

This again? She gritted her teeth. “We have no connection.”

“No?” His expression almost looked amused. “Then by all means—“ He moved his still outstretched hand closer to her, waiting. “People are beginning to notice, my Princess.”

“I am not your Princess,“ she hissed again and shoved her hand into his.

The sensation was still there, though not as sharp as their initial contact had been. Heat radiated into her palm from where their hands touched. It spread up her arm and across her whole body, and she had the sudden irrational thought that if she looked down she would find herself glowing.

What was happening to her? She stiffened, ready to pull away again, but he must have sensed her desire to bolt because he pulled her closer. The heat grew and grew until she thought she might perspire, though she didn’t.

Kais dipped his head, and his breath coasted over her ear. “How can you feel this and deny a connection?”

“Feel what?”

She cursed herself as her voice shook. Thankfully she was too close to be able to look him in the eyes. She didn’t think she could handle that at the moment.

She felt his huffed laugh in his chest, nearly pressed to her ear. “Indeed.”

He spun her expertly around the dance floor, and she met him step for step. Her father had not been overly generous when he had said she was proficient. Dancing was one of her favorite things about being a royal. Though, she was having difficulty enjoying the dance due to the roiling feeling in her chest, like a wave crescendoing and cresting again and again but never crashing. And the idea of it crashing—whatever it was—in front of so many people made her heart beat even more wildly.

She was about to flee when Kais stopped instead. She looked up and immediately saw why. Henrik. Tension poured into her limbs.

Her father’s advisor stood behind Kais, waiting. It took her a moment to realize he was trying to cut in.

“May I?” Henrik’s smile was just on the side of slimy.

Kais looked at him and then glanced down at her, his eyes narrowing. When he returned his attention to the other man, Kais’ eyes swept over him in dismissal. “No, I don’t think so.”

Henrik’s eyes widened. “No?”

“You’ll forgive me, I’m sure.” Kais’ fingers tensed on her back. “This is my first dance with the lovely Princess. I would like to see it through to its conclusion.”

For a moment, Henrik stared, his eyes moving between Kais and Satori, but then he nodded slightly and backed away, tugging at his tan waistcoat, his cheeks taking on a bit of color.

“That was rude,” she bit out at Kais when Henrik had gone and they had resumed their dance.

Kais glanced down at her for just a moment. “If you would like, I can call him back and release you into his, no doubt, more than capable hands.”

Her body seized for only a moment; she couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it. In all truth, she was glad he had refused Henrik. She’d heard that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, but at that moment, she wasn’t sure she believed it. So far, Kais, as arrogant as he seemed, had been above reproach. It was far more than she could say about Henrik.

His thumb slid across her back where his hand pressed. “That’s what I thought.”

There was something wrong with her. Her emotions and sensations were going mad, and just then, she was taking comfort in the fact that she was in the arms of a potential enemy and not in those of her father’s advisor. Helias.

She couldn’t, not anymore. She needed space—room to breathe.

She stopped and placed a hand on Kais’ chest, stepping back and away from the heat. She bowed her head slightly, only for a brief moment. “Thank you for the dance.”

Kais’ brows knit together as she turned to move away, off the dance floor and through the doors that led outside into the cool night air.

Her palms slapped against the stone railing that ran along the veranda outside the Hall. She bent over it slightly, putting her weight on it as she closed her eyes and pulled in as much air as possible. She was so warm. Her insides seemed to be writhing with some pent-up force; her skin was tingling, everything felt more and extra and too much. She wanted to rip her dress off and let the air soothe her skin.

A throat cleared behind her, and she spun around, her breath hitching. It was not whom she had expected.

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