A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle Read Online Free PDF Page B

side.
    "We think you should share a dance. The two
of you certainly make a fine," King Razzaq said, then paused, eyes
shifting to Leena, grip tightening just enough to make her listen,
"match."
    Leena caught the gasp before it slipped past
her tongue, but the triumphant look on her father's face was enough
to tell her something had been given away. So this was the boy he
wanted to match her with, the man he wanted her to marry.
    "Princess?" Amo said, offering his hand to
lead her to the floor.
    Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
    Her mind protested, but under the watchful
eyes of her father, Leena could do nothing but smile and accept.
Amo led her out, placed his hand on her hip, and confidently began
the steps.
    Shorter than Mikza—that was what she noticed
first. He had none of Mikza's grace, none of his fluidity. This boy
was stone where Mikza was water. His movements jerked her around,
pulling instead of leading, commanding instead of sharing.
    He was a son of Ourthuro.
    He was everything she wanted to escape.
    Tonight.
    Leena tried to calm herself, but the prayer
wasn't working. As she spun, her eyes shifted around the room,
spotting Mikza unharmed and still standing guard.
    Safe.
    He was still safe.
    But for how long? Her father had to know
something. Or hinting at her match would not have been so
satisfying to him, so sinister. Like a ghost, Leena still felt his
grip on her arm, felt the rings of a king taking hold. He would
never let her go.
    The room began to blur. Heat built under her
skin. The columns circling the dance floor seemed to expand, to
close in, a beautiful prison, a golden cage. The laughter in the
room grew unbearable, the candles blinded, the colors grew so
saturated that she could hardly make out one person from the next.
Suddenly her father's face seemed to loom in the air, to grow
larger, an image she could not escape.
    "Princess?" Amo said, breaking her
trance.
    They had stopped without her realizing. The
room felt silent without music, empty, everyone seemed to be
staring at her.
    But they weren't. Leena looked around, her
anxiety becoming too much, but no eyes met hers. No one had been
watching, not really.
    "I apologize," she said, voice hoarse. Leena
took a deep breath. "I suddenly do not feel very well. I think I
will retire to my rooms."
    Amo tugged on her arm, and in her weakened
state, Leena fell forward. His hands caught her, just as her
fingers landed on his chest, trying to find her balance. Just like
a young couple in love might look, as though her father had planned
it himself.
    "If we're to be matched," he whispered,
voice low, tone like iron, "I demand more respect than you have
shown tonight. My wife will know her place, one way or
another."
    And then he released her, warm smile back on
his lips. "Are you all right?" He cooed, settling her back on her
feet, lightly running his hand from her shoulder to her elbow
before letting go.
    Leena could not think of a word to say. Her
dry lips seemed glued shut. Her body trembled, and she felt as
though she might faint. So without a response, she turned and
walked slowly out of the ballroom, into the shadows, the cool
night, wondering how long she could hide before someone would find
her.
    Fearing who that someone might be.
     
     

Five
     

     
     
    "Leena?" Mikza's soft voice called, breaking her
reverie.
    She had found her way onto the balcony
outside the ballroom, seeking the comfort of the moonlight. The
stone floor was lined with shadows cast by the candlelight inside
the room, creating stripes as the beams broke through the spaces
between each towering column.
    "Mikza," she breathed, hating how weak she
sounded. Maybe she was that princess after all, that girl with no
backbone, the girl who hid instead of fighting.
    "What's wrong?" he whispered, just loud
enough to be heard. Standing four feet away, still in the doorway,
he seemed a lifetime from her. But he could come no closer. They
were still in public, still surrounded by her father's guests,