“Are we not?” he asked, looking down at our feet as if surprised to find them standing still. “We should rectify that.”
My fingers slid into his outstretched hand like water over rocks. He led me out to the center of the room as a new tune began. I snaked my free arm up his shoulder and felt my breath stop as his other hand came to rest at my waist. A warm ribbon of desire unraveled inside me, and I dared to wonder what those fingers would feel like against my bare skin.
I soon found out.
It was a lively jig, full of complicated spins and twists. Cassius skillfully led me through the unfamiliar steps, his smile bright. As the song came to an end, he drew me in, so close I could feel the heat of his chest singeing my thin satin, before twisting me into a spectacular dip. His palm splayed across my back, supporting my weight with a deft grace. Behind the mask, his eyes burned down at me.
The crowd broke into applause for the orchestra, and I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Ready for that dance now, Minnow?” Fisher asked. “Unless you’ve already made plans with…”
I inhaled deeply, catching my breath. “Fisher, this is Cassius. His father is a captain on Selkirk.” I turned back to Cassius. “Fisher is—”
“A family friend,” he interjected. He grazed my elbow, gently drawing me to his side. “A very close friend.”
They sized each other up, their glances heated and decidedly masculine. It was a strange sensation, being caught between the two of them. Though it was flattering, I couldn’t help but feel like a swimmer circled by two sharks, wondering which would strike first.
After a pause, Cassius shifted his eyes toward me, his face relaxing. “Save me your next waltz?”
“I’d be delighted—” I started, but Fisher spun me away as a new song began, and I didn’t know if Cassius had heard me.
Fisher’s hand at my waist was warm and sure, and he guided us through the steps with far more confidence than he’d shown at the triplets’ ball. Though we faced each other for most of the dance, his eyes never quite met mine, always resting just above my shoulders as if searching the room to make certain Cassius was watching.
“Fisher?”
His face broke into a triumphant smirk, and as we turned, I caught Cassius leaving the ballroom.
“What?” He laughed, seeing my raised eyebrow.
“What was that all about?”
He shrugged, then spun me out as the music built in a swooping crescendo.
“Fisher!”
“I don’t know. I saw you across the room, dancing with him, and I just…I knew I needed to come cut in.”
I paused. “Why?”
The tips of his ears flared red, and he looked away. “It’s hard to admit, Annaleigh.”
“We’ve always been able to tell each other anything,” I said, drawing his gaze back. “Haven’t we?”
“Well, yes, but…It’s just…” He let out a sigh of frustration. “I truly did not like seeing you in another man’s arms.”
My steps faltered, and Fisher rubbed his neck, looking exactly like the twelve-year-old boy I’d been smitten with.
“Is that strange to hear? It feels strange to say. All my life I thought of you as a sister…a sometimes exasperating but always beloved little sister. But when I came back to Salten and saw you so grown up and beautiful…I didn’t want you to feel like a sister any longer.”
“Oh.”
I should have said more, I could feel him silently begging me to say more, but the words weren’t there. Fisher stood frozen in a crowd of swirling couples. His eyes swept over me, worried amber fervently searching for something in mine. But they didn’t find what they wanted, and he abruptly left the dance floor.
I trailed after him, my stomach in a twist of fluttering knots. As a girl, I’d dreamt of this moment, wished and prayed for its arrival, but now that it was here, it felt flat. Even after his admission, I longed to search the room for Cassius instead, worried he might have overheard.
“Fisher, wait!” I exclaimed, following him to the outskirts of the room.
“Forget it, Annaleigh. Just forget I said anything.”
I grabbed at his hand, forcing him to stop. “Where are you going?”
He waved his arm, freeing himself from my grasp. “Anywhere but here. Don’t follow me.”
“You…surprised me.” My words fell out, feeble and weak.
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I should have stayed quiet—especially after everything Camille said about that watchmaker.”
“What does Edgar have to do with anything?”
Fisher tilted his head, incredulity sharp across his face. “You’re not going to end up with a Keeper of the Light. I know that. I knew that. But when I saw you in that dress tonight…” He reached out and pushed aside a loose curl behind my ear. His thumb traced across my cheek. “I just dared to dream otherwise.” He shook his head. “Forgive me. I’ve made a mess of this evening. I just…I need to just…” He turned and raced out of the room.
“Fisher!” I called after him, but he was gone.
“Lovers’ quarrel?” A stranger loomed over me, impossibly tall and gaunt. His tailcoat had been cut from a gorgeously thick emerald silk. Embroidered across the lapels was a three-headed dragon, claws raised as if to attack. Its eyes seemed to wink in the strange floral candlelight, but it was the man’s mask that wholly disconcerted me. Made of a clear resin, it covered his entire face, hiding the man beneath. Enormous eyes were painted across his own, allowing visibility only through tiny pinpricks in the false irises. Their brushstrokes were full of jealousy, mad with want.
“Not exactly.”
“Excellent. Then if you’re not otherwise engaged…” He held up an unusually long finger. “A dance?”
I glanced back toward the door Fisher had run out of but saw no sign of him. Feeling miserable, I accepted the stranger’s arm.
“It’s a lovely evening, don’t you think?” the dragon man asked after a long moment of silent dancing.
“I’ve had better,” I admitted.
He laughed. “Come, come. Cheer up. This is a party, is it not?”
“I suppose you’re right,” I said, following him through a series of steps. “Who do I have the pleasure of dancing with?”
He raised up that long finger again, shaking it with a dark smile. “Ah, ah, ah. The very delight of such an evening is being your complete self with a total stranger, don’t you think? Spilling your innermost thoughts—ones too dark and deep to ever speak in the light of day, confessing sins of passion and pleasure, maybe even misbehaving, and none of it matters, because if you don’t know who you’re toying with, then what’s the harm in it?” His arm snaked up my back, flush and exposed, pulling me against him. “Tell me, pretty lady, what are your darkest secrets?”
Though I couldn’t see his actual eyes, I felt them crawling all over my body.
As the song wound to an end, a string on one of the violins broke, ending the final note on a strange chord. I used the moment to squirm free of the dragon man’s grasp.
“I’m afraid I must go find my friend,” I stammered.
After a tense moment, he chuckled as if I’d said something amusing. “I’ll be back for you later.” He tapped his long finger against my wrist. “Count on it.”
I wanted to watch where he went, to keep track of him, but there were too many shades of green, and he melted into the crowd, gone in an instant. The orchestra rifled through sheets of music before finding a cheerful fox-trot.
“There you are!” Cassius exclaimed, suddenly at my side. He offered his hand for the next dance.
“Could we sit this one out?” I waved my lace fan back and forth. My mind was jumbled with too many thoughts, too weighed down to dance.
“Would you care for a stroll? I recall seeing a co
urtyard as I came in.”
I nodded gratefully.
“This way.”
Cassius led me through the huge arches lining the side of the ballroom and down the corridor, taking more turns than I could remember. Finally, we stepped out into a quiet courtyard, surrounded on three sides by towering cloisters.
The wind whipped by, blowing strands of hair across my face. It still smelled like autumn here. Pine needles and cold, crisp air, bonfires and moldering leaves, the world dying as it readied to be reborn. I took a deep breath, savoring the sharp tang.
An eerie cry ripped through the air. Another joined it, and another, and suddenly the night was alive with wavering howls.
“The Pelage wolves,” Cassius explained as I tensed. “They roam the forests at night, always on the hunt.”
Pelage. We were in Pelage. I tried picturing the map that hung in Papa’s study, showing all of the regions of Arcannia. Pelage was in the northeast section of the kingdom, about as far from Salann as you could get.
“It almost sounds like the whales at home. You can hear them singing on summer nights when the waters are still.” Thinking of Salann made my mind circle back to the one question it had avoided since running into Cassius. But I needed to know. “The last time I saw you, you were on Selkirk….”
His eyes twinkled under the mask. “I remember. You were the prettiest girl on the docks.”
I paused, taken aback by his open flirtation. “What on earth are you doing here?”
He looked to the sky as another volley of howls started up. “I could point out you’re just as far from home.”
“You’re right, but—”
“I came for the same reason as you,” Cassius continued, nodding back toward the castle. “The dancing.”
“Dancing?” I echoed. “You came all this way to Pelage for dancing?”
“Didn’t you?”
Our eyes met, and I got the distinct impression he somehow saw more of me than he ought to.
“You’re blushing,” he murmured, touching my cheek below the tulle mask. “I wouldn’t have expected that.” He traced one of the stars on my sleeve, curious. “What exactly are you meant to be?”
I ran my hands down the gown, heat sweeping from my cheeks throughout my body. “I…I just liked the stars. I thought they looked like a summer’s night sky.”
His stare weighed heavily across my skin. “They suit you.”
“And what about you?” I asked, gesturing to his all-black attire. “Are you scared of the dark?”
“Me?” He looked down. “I’m the most terrifying nightmare of them all.”
I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Regret.”
I smiled, though it wasn’t funny. “Is that really a nightmare?”
“Can you think of anything more frightening?”
Another sharp howl split the night, followed by a barrage of snarls. The wolves must have caught the scent of something. They were on the hunt.
We stared out over the forest, trying to spot the pack, but there were too many shadows.
His fingertips brushed against the back of my hand, no more than a whispered question, sending a dance of shivers down my spine. When I glanced up, I saw Cassius looking at me, but it was too dark to see the intent in his eyes. For a moment, the world seemed to be willing us closer and closer together. I felt his breath on my cheek and knew if I took one small step toward him, he would kiss me.
“Do you want to know what my biggest regret tonight will be, pretty Annaleigh?” he murmured, his lips brushing the skin of my temple.
Every fiber in my being was paused on tiptoe, aching for him to bridge the gap between us. My tongue felt too tied up to properly answer, and as his hand slipped over mine, I thought my heart would shatter with happiness.
“If I don’t spend the rest of this ball with you on the dance floor.”
He gently tugged me back inside, toward the ballroom. As a new waltz began, I suddenly remembered Cassius had never actually answered my question about what he was doing there.
I woke up screaming and fighting to free myself from tangled sheets.
Blinking against the early-afternoon light pushing in through half-closed curtains, I struggled to sit up, feeling sick and ready to vomit. My stomach lurched. The sheets were soaked in sweat, and my nightgown clung to me like a clammy shroud. A sour funk permeated the room, coating my mouth and choking me. I stumbled to the windows and pressed my flushed cheeks to the cold glass panes, gulping in the salty breeze and slowly coming back to myself.
It was the third night in a row I’d had the nightmare.
After returning from our night in Pelage, sneaking back into Highmoor just before the kitchen staff woke, I managed to stay awake until breakfast, then collapsed in an exhausted stupor. While I slept, Camille and the triplets returned to the Grotto, seeking invitations for the next ball. And the next ball. And the one after that.
We’d gone dancing every night for a week.
Not all of us, though. The Graces couldn’t stay up so late. They had lessons with Berta, and she’d fretted over the dark circles under their eyes, worrying Hanna and Morella. They stayed behind, quite grumpily, while the rest of us primped and powdered, dressing for whatever the night’s theme was in Mama’s gowns. Cobbler Gerver’s claims of the fairy shoes lasting for a whole season were wildly exaggerated. After a week of dancing, the stitching was unraveling and the soles were worn bare. We were forced to squeeze our big toes into Mama’s golden slippers and sandals. The aged leather frayed even faster, and stacks of spent shoes grew beneath our beds.
I found the dances great fun at first, seeing new places, meeting new people. A thrill raced down my spine as I stepped into a new ballroom, hoping Cassius would be there. But he never was, and the sleepless nights were catching up with me. I slept in later and later, but my slumber was interrupted by strange dreams, extensions of the dances themselves.
They always started normally enough, with gorgeous dresses in beautiful halls. A handsome man would emerge from the crowd and hold out his hand.
“Dance with me?” he’d ask, and we’d be off, twirling through a series of steps.
But as the dream wore on, the music would take on a different pitch, the notes turning flat and sour. We’d spin around again and again, and a strange light would appear, tinting the room sickly and greenish. No one but me ever seemed to notice. The crowds just kept on dancing. No one ever stopped.
I’d try to, forcing myself to lose momentum, begging my partner for a reprieve, but my feet would never listen. They’d continue following his steps, no matter what I did.
“Dance with me,” my partner would plead, but the voice never matched his body. It was raspy and harsh, as though multiple voices spoke the words, wanting to blend into one but not completely synced.
I’d shake my head, backing away. This wasn’t right. Something was terribly wrong. I wanted to leave the dance floor now—right now—and that’s when she’d grab me.
Her skin was pale and mottled, like a mushroom grown too large and soft. Black hair swirled about her, tangling in her layers of gray chiffon, weightless and writhing. Worst of all were her eyes, dark as night, hostile, and shedding pitch-black tears. They ran down her face, leaving behind oily tracks that dripped to her bare gray feet. Sharp, pointed teeth winked from a sly grin as she pulled me closer.
“Dance with me,” the Weeping Woman would whisper, and I’d wake up, gasping for air.
“Don’t tell me you’re still in your nightgown,” Hanna said, bustling into my room. She carried a basket of mending and set it down with a whoosh of breath.
“I had a bad night.”
“You and everyone else, it seems. Camille is still asleep. Short of stomping into her room with a pair of brass cymbals, I’m not sure how to wake her.�
�� She turned to my bureau, sorting stockings from the basket.
I flexed my aching feet back and forth. I’d broken my last pair of Mama’s slippers and could feel hot blisters on the side of my little toes. We needed new shoes.
“Your father is coming home today,” Hanna continued.
“Today?” I brightened. Perhaps he’d arrive back from court in high spirits and I could finally tell him all I’d learned about Eulalie’s final night.
“Madame Morella received a letter after supper yesterday. She’s been up for hours, waltzing about the house and singing the news to anyone who will listen.” She sighed. “And if I have to hear about those babies one more time…Do you really think they’re boys?”
I pushed the last traces of sleep from my eyes. “I don’t know. Mama said she thought we’d all be boys too.”
Hanna crossed to my armoire and pulled out a blue gown. “She’s carrying so high, I think it must be girls. But she’s so sure….” She shook her head. “I fear she’s bound to be disappointed.” She caught herself and smiled at me. “Not that any of you were ever a disappointment.”
I pulled the sodden nightgown over my head before stepping into the dress she held out.
“Speaking of sons…” Her smile flattened with a wisp of sadness. “You’ve spent some time with Fisher since he got back, haven’t you?”
“A little,” I murmured uneasily.
In truth, I’d not spoken with him since that night in Pelage. When our paths did cross, he’d abruptly turn down another hall, ignoring my pleas. I tried sneaking into the servants’ wing to corner him in his bedroom, but he seemed to hear me coming every time. I always found the room dark and empty.
He’d even stopped coming to the balls, despite the triplets’ most fervent begging.
Using the vanity mirror, I watched her expression as she buttoned up the dress. Her forehead seemed to have more worry lines than usual. “Is everything all right, Hanna?”
“Oh, fine, fine. It’s to be expected, I suppose. It’s the first bit of free time he’s had in ages. It was silly to think he’d want to spend every spare second with me.”
House of Salt and Sorrows Page 13