Hall of Shadows [The Celestial Chronicles #2]

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Beltane Ball ( Part II)

"That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine."

- Dylan Thomas, "Poem in October"

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Soundtrack of the chapter: Winterspell by Two Steps From Hell ( Play it! It's the song Cady and Jasper danced to ;))

Media: Casper artwork by me! ( You can read the exact scene in this chapter!)

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Chapter Twenty Seven: The Beltane Ball ( Part II)

A part of Cady wanted to squeal out loud, while the other part of her wanted to hide. "Jasper," she said. "I thought you don't dance. You know, I can't, either."

His eyes shone, like tourmaline caught in moonlight. "Only for you."

He grasped Cady's waist with right hand and gently laced his fingers through her left. His sudden movements caught Cady off guard, her breath leaving her in one go. Whenever she floundered, or stepped on his polished shoes with her bare feet, he didn't seem to mind. Slowly but steadily, he guided her to the music, which had begun to pick up in tempo. Their feet twinkled in and out, sweeping across the grass, tracing patterns in the air.

The braids behind Cady's head flew loose. Jasper suddenly placed both of his hands on her waist and lifted her into the air. She gasped, almost panicking until he put her back down. Without giving her time to recover, Jasper whisked her off into another dance.

The song grew faster and faster: sweet notes wrung out by rosined bows on strings and the staccatos of the piano keys. Cady danced with Jasper. It was a rather spontaneous dance, their bodies moving as one, advancing with the music. Unlike Eli, Jasper didn't jar the dance from a bad leg. He twirled her, and she laughed. Faster and faster, they danced until the music coalesced and stopped, ending in a sonorous beat. Jasper's face was only inches away from hers. So close, she could feel his warm breath on her. He smiled.

"You're pretty good for someone new."

Cady grinned back. "Only because I have a good dance partner."

Jasper released Cady, who took in a deep breath, still lightheaded from all the dancing. He put a hand on her face, his fingers moving from the hanging beads of her headdress and slid down her chin, lifting it up as if he could get a better view of her. She stared back at Jasper with a fiery passion. She wanted him to see her, all her good and all her flaws. She wanted to see him too, to see all the raw emotions that so rarely seeped out from the cracks of his cold façade.

"Hey, have you ever been to the Celestial Towns?" he implored after his hands had left her.

She shook her head. She had never ventured further than the Hall of Spirits. The whole of Esvanira and its unusual inhabitants still remained a mystery to her. Realization suddenly dawned on her that she had been cooped up in the world of Starlets for too long, without any knowledge of the outside world—the Stelliums, the Detriments, even the Decanates. A hunger for adventure burned within her. For too long, her freedom was limited to only the Halls. Cady wanted to break free.

Jasper took her hand. "I figured, since you came from the New World. There is a nearby Celestial Town called Eris. I'll take you there."

Cady jerked her chin toward the Hall of Spirits. Eli...

There was no sign of him. It had been over an hour since she had come out of the Hall, waiting for him. He would be more than outraged to find out that she had slipped out to the Celestial Towns without his permission, with Jasper nonetheless. But the thought of the towns were tempting. Her wilder side was crying, pleading to be set free, away from the strongholds of the Hall and its oppressive tyrant.