A Dangerous Dance [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Thirteen

IRIS STUMBLED AND CRIED OUT AS as the girls moved up the silver staircase.

"Iris!" Evelina, the closest to her, caught the younger girl just as her foot missed the stair.

Althea turned, concern written on her tired face, "Iris? Are you all right?"

Evelina helped her regain her footing, and Iris nodded shakily, "I-I'm fine..."

She was practically asleep on her feet. Iris was sensitive and sweet, easily brought to tears, and she tried so hard to act strong.

"Eve, watch after her, will you?"

Evelina nodded and wrapped an arm around Iris, helping her up the steps as they continued, slowly, towards the distant light.

Althea was limping. Badly. Phoebe was asleep in Blythe's arms and Magdalena was silently weeping.

Althea wanted to scream in frustration. She wanted to shout and throw something and hold the Shadow Queen at gunpoint, demanding that she released their contract.

She wanted to do something. Anything to stop this hopelessness.

Weary and grateful, Althea emerged from the wardrobe into their room. The rest of the girls tumbled out and the last sister, Holly, closed it behind her. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Let's get to bed." Althea murmured, already starting to unbutton her dress.

Solemn was a word spoken between them, as every girl helped one another dress for bed. The sky was starting to lighten by the time Althea crawled into bed, groaning in effort, and curled up with Ophelia.

It seemed like only a minute before someone was shaking her awake.

"Princess. Princess."

Her eyes fluttered open to find the worried face of Mary, one of their maids, "Hm? Mary?"

"Come quick, Your Highness." Mary kept her voice low.

Althea frowned and pushed herself up. It was just barely dawn and almost all of the other girls were still asleep.

"What is it? Has something happened?"

Mary nodded, "Best come with me for now, you'll see when you get there."

Althea carefully untangled herself from Ophelia and grabbed a shawl before quickly following Mary, still in her night dress and her hair a mess of curls around her shoulders.

Barefooted, she followed Mary out of their room and down the stairs towards the library.

Even before they entered, Althea heard the screams.

"Nora!" She cried, and even though her leg ached badly, she broke into a run and pushed the library's doors open.

"Althea."

It was Blake.

"Where is she?" Althea asked, and didn't give Blake anytime to answer. She rushed past him and went straight to one of the couches, where Lenora was thrashing and screaming.

"Nora, Nora, wake up." Althea grabbed the small girl's thrashing arms, pinning them down. Lenora, her eyes closed, fought and kept up her awful screaming.

After a moment, she screamed until she couldn't scream anymore and her body went limp. Althea, trembling, pulled her little sister to her chest.

"Shh, shh, I'm here, I'm here." Lenora whimpered pitifully as Althea ran her fingers through her auburn curls.

Then she began to sob and Althea closed her eyes tightly.

She must've been sleep walking again. Lenora only did it when she was truly exhausted. They tried to lock the doors most nights so she wouldn't wander the palace at night. But the maids must've forgotten last night.

"Althea..."

She bit her lip, hard, and shook her head the tiniest bit. There was tentative touch on her shoulder, then a warm embrace enveloped her.

Althea turned her head and found Blake's solid shoulder there. She exhaled shakily and the next thing she knew, she was sobbing into his shirt.

The tears just kept coming. Althea could hardly believe she had so much in her. And poor Blake was receiving the blunt of it. She cried until she started to hiccup and finally, the tears stopped.

Lenora, still huddled up against Althea's body, inhaled in a way that said she was done crying too. And Althea lifted her chin.

"Nora?"

There was a haunted look in Lenora's bloodshot eyes, "It-It was h...horrible, Thea, I...I..." she couldn't even get past that simple sentence before the tears filled her eyes again.

Althea brushed her hair away from her small face, "Shh, it's all right, I'm here now, you're safe, I promise. You're safe."

Lenora sank into Althea's embrace again, only weeping wearily now.

Althea turned to face Blake. It was odd to see him so early in the morning, when normally he was so well put-together, and embarrassing.

"I'm so sorry, Blake." She didn't even blink twice at using his first name, "I... I'm sorry you were disturbed so early in the morning."

He shook his head a little, "Please. You have nothing to apologize about. I would've woken her up myself, but I thought it was best that you did."

Tears blurred her vision again, "Why do you insist on helping my family?" She shook her head, "First Magda's present, now this? I... don't understand. You don't own us anything."

His expression went dark, "It seems that I can't help enough..."

Althea swallowed and looked down at Lenora to avoid his gaze, "There's not much anyone can do to help. Not now, I'm afraid."

"Don't be too sure of that, Althea."

Surprised, she jerked her head up to look at him again, but Blake was already lost in deep thought with a determined look on his face. He removed his arm from around her shoulders and stood.

"I'll carry her up."

She wanted to ask what he meant by what he said, but she knew that if she asked now, he would never tell her.

Blake easily picked Lenora up, who latched onto his neck without a problem and closed her eyes, leaning into him. Althea picked herself up with a grunt, only just now realizing that she was in her night dress, alone in a dark room, with a man.

Blood warmed her cheeks.

Silently, she followed behind him as they went back up the stairs to the girls' room. By the time they got to the doors of the room, Lenora was sound asleep. Althea had a feeling that she wouldn't have anymore nightmares. There was a little half-smile in her lips and she looked more relaxed in sleep than she had in a long time.

Althea opened the door, then spoke quietly to Blake, "You can set her down on one of the couches, I'll stay out here with her."

He nodded and gently laid her across a couch, careful not to wake her. Althea snatched a quilt from one of the other couches and tucked her sister in.

Blake was halfway to the door when Althea called out to him, "Blake?"

He stopped, but didn't turn.

"What... what are you planning?"

He said nothing for a long moment and Althea was aware that her heart was pounding.

"Good night..."

She held her breath.

"... Althea."