By Midnight Blood

Chapter Fifteen - Hostage

Liridia
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Nalem uncrossed my arms from my chest as the music began, swinging me into second position. He placed one hand in the air, bent at the elbow and I matched him, walking in two tight circles in time with each other, spinning into holding each other and beginning the night.

In our dance I noticed Sandra was dancing with a boy whom I had not met. He had light hair like she did, but it was red. Coppery and shiny like it had sunset in it. He was from the sparring circles a while ago when Drako humiliated him in front of everyone. He had basically hidden himself after that. I had not seen that hair since that day.

I turned back to Nalem and smiled. He took it slower with me and for that I was grateful, but I always felt my attention slipping and drawn to the people around me.

People had eventually noticed that I was wearing a suit and I hadn't thought of everyone staring at me when I passed. The attention was making me queasy.

"Nalem." I breathed into his shoulder, closing my eyes to block out the confused stares of the people we passed as we danced. "Nalem. People are staring."

Nalem spun me so I faced the same way he was, my back pressed into him. "Let them." He said into my ear. My eyes flitted past numerous sets of wandering others, glancing at me from head to toe, some smiling in approval and some confused and disgusted. I let them stare but averted my eyes to the floor.

The dance ended with my eyes meeting Nalem's, our wrists just touching as we paused to finish. The woods was fresh in my mind and I thought of when he stood on my feet like me and Pa did when he came home from work. They were some of my happiest memories, before everything went to shit.

"I need some air." I excused myself, walking up to the second tier that overlooked the ballroom below. There was a smaller lookout section that beheld Trinity and I could feel him tense inside me.

Look at her. Smug, as always.

What's to be smug about, you grouch?

She has everything. I had to wait an eternity for you to even be born so I could have this opportunity.

Whatever are you talking about?

She put a curse on me when I... someone important to her died. I wasn't to own a body in a million million passings of the sun. Trapped in a prison of gold, forced to endure-

Hold up.

You dare interrupt-

Shut up.

Fallon was staring directly at me from across the ballroom. Unreadable. I picked up a glass of wine from one of the waiters and raised it at her, trying to seem nonchalant. I downed the drink in one gulp and placed it back onto the waiters tray.

I rested my hands on the balustrade and was caught off guard by a boy with summer eyes.

"Cal." I breathed, placing a hand over my heart to still the beat.

"Apologies for startling you." He apologised and I nodded in forgiveness. He pointed at my tie and when I looked down to see what he was pointing at, he moved his finger up and flicked my nose. I glared at him in playful anger.

"Hilarious." I turned back to the ballroom floor below and ignored the stare of Fallon from across the room.

"You've been avoiding me." He stated simply.

"I have not!" I countered in defence. In all honesty I had been avoiding him. Ever since I saw his heart burn red and my breath bleed black when we touched at the infirmary, I had strictly avoided him in the dining hall, at the sparring rings, in the infirmary itself. I couldn't hide from him in our lessons, however.