Bent But Not Broken

Nine

"no no no! You're doing it incorrectly, do it again!" Her dance teacher scolded her. Nyxia winced, grimacing slightly as she tried to do the move again, but instead ended up tumbling onto the ground.

She bit back a snappy retort. This was annoying as hell, but it was a necessary evil.

A movement at the corner of her eyes distracted her, and she looked over, bemused to see Kalix leaning against the wall, smirking with a glimmer in his eyes as he looked at her.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Nyxia stalked over to him. "What are you doing here? Are you wanting to see me humiliate myself?" She scowled at him. His amusement only grew.

"Not at all, my lady. I heard about...the incident this morning and I wanted to see how you were doing. In both regards, of course."

Red stained her cheeks as she recalled screaming like an assassin was about to kill her. That was so incredibly embarrassing, Nyxia felt like she was never going to live that down.

"As you can see, I'm doing quite well, thank you. Don't you have any of your princely duties to attend to?"

Kalix laughed. He had a lovely laugh that wrapped around her like a warm hug. He rarely ever laughed, so she reveled in it, even as she feigned indifference.

"Yeah, I do. But none are as entertaining as watching you fall over your feet and trying not to cuss out the teacher."

Nyxia glared at him. "You are a real charmer, do you know that?"

He grinned. "As a matter of fact, yes I do." He winked, and she rolled her eyes. "I need to get back to practicing, if you don't mind."

She turns to go, but Kalix grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Startled, Nyxia let him. "What are you—"

"I'm teaching you how to dance. I mean, what she's teaching you is important, but you're going to be dancing with other people, Nyxia. This will help you a lot."

Nyxia nodded. "Okay, teach me."

He slid his hands over hers, putting both hands on his shoulders. "Look down, focus on the movement of my feet and follow along." He murmured, his voice soft.

She looked down, hands clasped firmly on his shoulders, and Kalix settled his own hands on her hips before moving his feet in a complicated pattern, going slowly for Nyxia's benefit.

She moved her feet with his, a bit clumsy at first. But as they kept on, she became smoother with her movements. She began to manage to follow the steps by the way his body moved.

She looked up, looking at him as she kept on dancing. He smiled, pride glimmering in his eyes. "Good, you got it. You'll learn, I don't doubt that."

Reaching up, Kalix removed his hand from her hip to brush away a stray hair in her face. Nyxia shivered lightly, staring at him.

He was so beautiful. Everything about him. It was like Nyxia was seeing him for the first time.

She suddenly became aware of how close his body was to hers, how close his face was.

"I have to get back to work." Kalix said hastily, releasing her and stepping back. He shot her a quick smile. "Keep practicing."

Nyxia could only stare, watching as he walked out of the room, suddenly feeling cold.

What the hell was that?

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Later that night, Nyxia returned to her room and found a few novels sitting on her nightstand drawer. These must be the books Kalix told her about.

Picking one up, she looked at the cover. It was a novel purely for pleasure, not a book that had good information in it.

But perhaps it'd be a welcome change.

After Nyxia got ready for bed, she slid between her refreshingly clean sheets—she was nervous she'd bleed through again—and picked up the first book, cracking it open and losing herself in a world full of death, revenge, and a blistering hot romance.

She read late into the night, her eyes seemingly growing wider and wider the more she read.

At one point Nyxia slammed the book shut and wondered what the hell was the point Kalix was trying to make with this book.

all it showed her was that the two characters hated each other at first, have a reluctant attraction to each other, give in, and they both fall in love.

Of course, Nyxia doubted Love was that simple in the real world.

But she needed answers. She was more curious about it now.