A Dangerous Dance [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Nineteen

ALTHEA COLLAPSED DURING THE TENTH SONG of the night. She went down with a cry, pain flooding through her system as the music screeched to a stop.

She took Cepheus with her, the two of them ending up hopelessly tangled together on the dance floor.

"Thea!" Cried Jaqueline, the closest to the scene. Together with her dance partner, Scorpius, they helped Cepheus and Althea untangle themselves from the other. Her face contorted in pain as she accepted the help of her sister and stood, biting down hard on her lip.

Dahlia, a few paces away with Sagittarius next to her, faced the Shadow Queen and bowed slightly, "Please, Your Majesty, may we take our break?"

The Shadow Queen looked between Althea and Jaqueline, then her cold, lifeless eyes looked at all of the princesses. It seemed like an agonizingly long moment before she curtly nodded her head in consent.

A collective sigh seemed to move through all of the girls, stepping away from their dance partners and converging around their eldest sister. Althea was barely able to stand on her own as Jaqueline and her twin guided her to the couches lining the walls of the ballroom.

"Thea, are you all right?" Holly asked, a worried frown creating wrinkles between her eyebrows.

Althea nodded, despite her flushed cheeks and glassy eyes, "I-I'm fine."

"You obviously aren't." Snapped Cassidy, then she sighed and lowered her voice, "You can't dance anymore, Thea."

She shook her head in a tired manner, "I have to." She muttered. There was a dull, throbbing ache in her hip, the muscles in her leg stiff and tense. And she knew. She knew that if she tried to stand now, she'd collapse again.

"Princess Althea."

All of the surrounding sisters jerked their heads towards Cepheus, who respectfully stood a few paces away from the circle of princesses. She lifted her head, looking at him with cool indifference.

He was a harsh and controlling dance partner, forcing Althea into each step, but outside of dancing, the two had a mutual mask of indifference towards each other. Cepheus was about as bland as the porridge she ate for breakfast.

"Her Majesty has permitted you to sit out for the next three dances." He spoke in that same monotonous, dry voice, like dead leaves skittering across the ground.

Althea exhaled, something close to relief flooding her system, "Thank you for informing me, Cepheus."

"Of course, Your Highness." He bowed slightly, then promptly turned and joined the group of his brothers clustered together across the room.

"It isn't enough." Blythe said quietly, "Three dances? That's hardly enough time for you to recover, Al."

"Well, it's all I've been given, isn't it?" Althea snapped, immediately regretting her harsh words and softening her voice, "It'll have to be enough."

None of the other princesses spoke. They sat in groups around Althea, faces pale and tired and worn down. Althea slowly stretched out her leg, trying not grimace at the pain, and suddenly lifted her head when she felt cold eyes on her.

The Shadow Queen was watching her.

She shivered and looked away first, mouth going dry. The Queen was not happy with this turn of events. And Althea had a sickening feeling that things were about to go very, very wrong.

Sooner than she would've liked, her sisters warily picked themselves up and waited as the princes led them back onto the dance floor. Cepheus led one of the ladies of the court out to dance instead of Althea.

She watched as they danced, feeling miserable and secluded on her lonely spot. Of course, she didn't mind not dancing, but it wasn't that rewarding when she was alone and not surrounded by sisters.

Her three songs passed in an agonizingly slow crawl. It felt like forever before Cepheus appeared in front of her, offering his hand to guide her back to the dance floor.

Althea bit down on the inside of her cheek as she stood and followed, the pain almost unbearable in her hip.

But something was different. Cepheus's grip was tight as always, but it wasn't controlling. His face was as blank and indifferent as ever, but something lurked under the indifference.

If Althea didn't know any better, she would've thought Cepheus seemed afraid. But it didn't make much sense. Cepheus didn't feel emotion. None of the princes did.

Her uneasy feeling stayed for the rest of the night. Every instinct inside Althea's body was screaming for her to run, to leave, more than usual.

Finally, the last song of the night ended. The princesses curtsied to the princes, then gathered together to leave the ballroom.

But the doors were closed. Althea pushed, but they would not budge not matter how hard she pushed. A panicked feeling starting to take root, Althea turned and met the eyes of the Shadow Queen.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded, "Your Majesty, it is dawn. Our dancing for the night is done. Let us go home."

A cruel smile appeared on the Queen's face, "Princess Althea, this is your home. You will stay. Forever."

The princesses were trapped.