Given the short amount of time Linnea had had to put it all together, the ballroom looked especially impressive.
Under the dark canopy of night displayed in the glass dome, twinkling lights had been strung around the room. Along the walls, tables had been adorned with shimmering linens, crystal centerpieces, and mood-enhancing candles. A buffet of savory and sweet ran along the wall at the end of the ballroom, with an ice sculpture of a fish.
In the far corner of the room, a small chamber orchestra had been set up. When I entered the room, they were just finishing an old Skojare song I remembered my mom singing, then they switched to an ethereal orchestral cover of “Bulletproof” by LaRoux.
I’d arrived late, so the dance floor was already crowded, all the guests wearing masks equally as beautiful as mine. It was a veritable rainbow in the ballroom, and not just because of all the beautiful dresses. All the highest royals were in attendance, along with the Skojare guards dressed in their frosty uniforms.
Most of the allies that had come to the party from the Trylle and the Vittra were men, dressed crisply in their dark uniforms of emerald and claret, but the Skojare women were more than happy to dance with them. After years of living in the rather isolated Storvatten, new faces were exotic and exciting, especially when they had come to save the kingdom.
I stood in the doorway for a moment, content enough to watch so many trolls coming together like this. Talking, laughing, twirling around on the dance floor together. Even at parties, like at King Evert and Queen Mina’s anniversary party, everyone was still so segregated. Trylle danced with Trylle, and so on.
This was the first time I’d ever seen the kingdoms so commingled before. It was kind of amazing, and I wondered if Linnea’s masquerade theme had helped this happen.
“I wasn’t sure if you were coming,” a voice said at my side, and I turned to see that Ridley had somehow snuck beside me.
He’d forgone the Skojare uniform, unlike many of the other attendees, and instead wore a simple, surprisingly well-tailored suit. It was pure white, with a satin and diamond finish, and he wore it with a black dress shirt. Based on the exquisiteness of it, I realized that Linnea had procured it for him the same way she had gotten my gown for me.
Since we’d been in Storvatten, Ridley hadn’t shaved, leaving him with a light beard along his jawline and above his lip. His hair was only slightly disheveled, like he’d styled it perfectly but couldn’t help himself and ran his hand through it.
His mask was black and thicker than mine, more masculine, but just as gorgeous.
“I wasn’t sure you were coming either,” I admitted. Since we’d just been focusing on training and hadn’t had a chance to talk since our late-night rendezvous, I had no idea where we stood.
“I’d never miss a chance to dance with you.” He stepped back and extended his hand to me. He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. The question was in his eyes.
Tentatively, I took his hand and let him lead me out onto the dance floor. I wasn’t sure if the crowed actually parted for us, or if it just felt that way. Whenever I was with Ridley like this—when he was touching me, and his eyes were focused on me, and my heart was pounding so fast I felt dizzy and drunk—the whole world always seemed to fall away. Like we had become the center of the universe, and everything spun around us.
Ridley pulled me close to him and put his hand on my back—his hand warm and rough on my bare skin, thanks to the plunging back. We stayed that way for a split second—my hand in his, my body pressed against him, and him staring down at me.
I loved the darkness of his eyes. It seemed to overtake me.
And then we were moving. I let him lead me along, following his quick moves step for step. He extended his arm, twirling me out away from him and making my gown whirl out around me, before pulling me back to him again.
The crowd had definitely moved for us by then, creating a space in the center of the room where Ridley and I could show off the dancing we’d learned in school. All trackers learned it, but I had to admit that he was more proficient than most.
When he dipped me back, so low my hair brushed the floor, he smiled, and there was a glint in his eye. With one quick move, he pulled me back into his arms, holding me to him.
The song had changed, shifting to “Love Me Again” by John Newman, so we slowed. He kept his hands on my waist, and I let my hands relax on his shoulders. We were flirting, playing the way we had before, and it made my heart ache.
Because things weren’t the way they were before anymore. Not even close.
My smile must’ve fallen away, because Ridley looked concerned—his eyes darkening beneath the mask, and his steps slowing as his arms tightened around me.
“Why did you come back for me?” I asked him finally, referring to what he’d said when he first arrived in F?rening. “Did you even come back for me?”