A Song of Silence

Chapter 86: A Dance in the Dark

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The double doors to the ballroom creaked open as I entered. Silence greeted my arrival and I could feel every eye on me from my space on the stairs. The room was lavishly decorated with candles, finery, and food of every kind. What mattered to me the most though, was the heated look Azazel was giving me as he watched me from his position across the room on his throne. "Lady Aerilynn FlameCaster," the herald called behind me. With every eye on me, I curtsied to the best of my ability to Azazel and the High Queen and descended to the dance floor.

To the surprise of everyone in the room, myself included, Azazel unfolded himself from his throne and walked down the steps from his dias to the dance floor as well. His eyes never left my firm and the reason for his decent became apparent to everyone in the room. Suddenly, the eyes of most every female in the room became predatory. They assessed me and wondered how I of all fae could cause the High King to descend from his throne and dance with me. The dress I was wearing probably did not help their scrutinizing. It was a magnificent gown, after all.

Approaching me slowly, he extended his hand to me in an invitation to dance with him. Taking his hand in mine, I happily obliged just this once. One large hands that knew my body well settled around my waist, while the other grasped my hand in a steady grip. I let Azazel lead this time. I was an excellent dancer when it came to music, but I was much worse at traditional ballroom dances. The Grand Assassin had trained all of his students in many kinds of dancing, so that we could blend in anywhere, but I was never as natural at ballroom dancing as I was at feeling the rhythm of the music around me. Azazel seemed to sense my reluctance to lead the dance and quickly took the lead. I inclined my head in thanks at him and he responded in kind.

The music flowed around us and other nobles started to dance around us. Neither of us seemed to notice or care, though. Azazel looked into my eyes and I looked into his and neither of us had any interest in looking away. My adoptive mother, Miranda, had often said that the eyes were the windows to the soul. Looking into Azazel's eyes as we danced, I finally saw the truth of her words. The utmost love he felt for me glimmered in the liquid mercury depths of his eyes. They flashed and changed to mirror what he saw in my violet eyes. Right now, neither of us had any interest in anything but the feel of our bodies as they pressed together with the dances movements and the twirls of my gown as we moved across the dance floor.

Finally, the dance ended and Azazel and I slowly drifted to a stop on the dance floor and the reason for my coming to the ball came to the forefront of my mind. "I need to speak with you," I whispered to Azazel. He saw the urgency in my eyes and in the most impromptu fashion, dragged me by my hand across the dance floor to a set of adjoining double doors. They quickly opened and shut behind us. I felt the confused and astonished gazes of the entire court as we quickly left. I couldn't blame them for their surprise, Azazel's actions were very out of character and he had just broken several rules of protocol by dragging me out of there as quickly as he had.

Putting my hand in the crook of his elbow, Azazel and I walked side by side as we surveyed the paintings around us. "What was it you needed to speak to me about?" He asks quietly.

"It's about... well, your proposal."

He raises his eyebrow and asks, "What about it?"

"I need you to postpone it past tonight." My words come out in a rush.

Azazel says nothing. I know that if I looked at him right now, he would be studying closely, so I schooled my features into a determined mask. "Why?" The words are quieter than I've ever heard.

I stop our walk and face Azazel, wringing my hands all the while. "Because I challenged the Grand Assassin to a duel to the death. He has yet to set the terms and when, but it will not look good politically if your fiancée is dead mere days after you announce your engagement."

Azazel seems stunned by my words, "That's what your worried about? How it will look politically!" He seems quite angry by my request. I had thought he might be, but I had hoped he wouldn't get too angry about my challenge to the Grand Assassin. At least one thing is in my favor right now. "And what do you mean you challenged the Grand Assassin to a duel?" He asks his voice deathly quiet. Damn it. I spoke too soon.

""Let's just say I'm under a bit of a time crunch and this was the easiest way to get what we need. I challenged him, so he will set the time, place, and what we will duel with. I will survive the challenge, or I won't, but what I do know is that I cannot be your fiancée and the Lord of Assassins." My words come out in a rush and I wait anxiously as Azazel processes my words.

"Let me take your place." He says determined.

His answer shocks me beyond reason, "What, no! Absolutely not!" I have no doubt Azazel is a great warrior, but the Grand Assassin is infinitely better trained than him and equal to only maybe me. Not to mention a challenger has to be of the Grand Assassin's bloodline and I am the only known relative that he has at the moment. I have no doubt he would have attempted to sire as many children that he could on Guinevere, but that didn't turn out too well for either of them.

"Why not?" He sounds almost hurt, "Do you not trust me to protect you. Do you not think I can defeat him?"

I hold my finger up to his lips to shush him, "First of all, I trust you with my life, but not with your own. You have the habit of being just as recklessly suicidal as I am and secondly, no, I do not think you can defeat him."

"Why not? I'm as well trained as you." He protests.

"Because he has centuries on the both of us and even I don't think I can win in my duel against him. Also a challenger can only be a member of the direct bloodline of the Lord of Assassins and you are obviously not a descendant of him." My shoulders huff up and down as Azazel and I stare at each other, both too stubborn to relent. "So, yes, I need you to postpone your proposal until our problems are dealt with."

Azazel searches my eyes for a few moments before nodding, "Fine, you have one week." I open my mouth to protest but he places his hand over my mouth and says, "Be glad I am giving you any time at all. I have half a mind to drag you back in there and declare we are engaged anyway." He smiles at the scowl that appeared on his face at the last of his words. Tucking my arm into the crook of his once more, Azazel leads us back to the ballroom. We aren't but a few steps back into the room that glass shatters all around us.

I look up and see several cloaked figures drop from the ceiling and land in perfect form in the middle of the dance floor. Pandemonium breaks out as nobles struggle to run away from the cloaked figures and get away from the falling glass. Once the chaos has ended and the nobles are as close to the periphery of the room as they can get, the lead Assassin gestures to me with a small scroll in his hand. Detaching myself from Azazel's arm with much protest from Azazel, I approach the assassin and take the scroll from his grip.

——————————————————————
Tomorrow night at midnight
We fight
With nothing, but our abilities
Good luck
You'll need it
——————————————————————

With that, I look up at the assassin and the devious look on his face. "A gift, dear lady, from your father." Before I can react, he throws a knife directly at Azazel. My magic reacts before I can think and electricity erupts around the room.