Page 33 of The Hidden
“Tysa.” At the sound of her name, Tysa looks over, and Sutton gestures to me and then gives her a deep bow. Tysa laughs and then wags her eyebrows at me before Sutton straightens up and catches it. I give Tysa a wink, and she grabs Moro’s arm and drags him out to join the dancers.
“How’s it coming along with Ami?” Sutton asks as he moves to stand next to me, his big well-muscled arm brushing against me.
“Good. We’re making progress,” I offer vaguely and watch as Moro twirls a giggling Tysa around.
“Do you feel like you and your gryphon are connecting, becoming one?”
I shrug noncommittally, not sure what to say. I have been making progress with Ami. As soon as he replaced all the items that were destroyed with his little cliff stunt, I put everything behind me, and we got to work on shifting. Pigeon and I are finding a good balance, but I don’t think we’ll ever be the kind ofonethat Sutton is with his gryphon. Ami was right in saying that Pigeon and I might always feel like two separate entities sharing the same body. I, of course, don’t tell Sutton any of this, because I don’t want him to look at me the way the others do as they spithighbornorblood taintedat me whenever it suits them.
Sutton doesn’t press for details, and we fall into a companionable silence as we watch the dancers bouncing and laughing.
“Would you like to dance?” Sutton asks me, and my eyes snap up to his.
“Um...I don’t know how. I mean, I know how to dance, but I don’t know the moves to the dances you do,” I correct.
“I’d be happy to teach you,” Sutton offers, and I don’t miss the way his tone lowers, a hint of suggestion in it.
“I don’t think this dress could handle one of the twirly dances without flashing lips and crack to everyone, but maybe the next little bouncy one would be safe,” I hedge, and Sutton’s smile becomes beaming.
“A drink then? To fortify our courage for the next bouncy one,” he offers, and with my nod, he quickly tromps off into the direction of the closest cask.
I smile as I watch him weave through people, and make a mental note to high five Tysa tomorrow after I’ve spent all night scratching all of my itches with Sutton. I feel eyes on me, and I slowly scan the faces around me, looking for whoever is setting my senses off. I land on an intense honey-filled gaze, and I’m not sure how I feel about Zeph staring at me so intently. I haven’t seen him for weeks, and I hate that something wakes up inside of me as I return his stare, refusing to be the one to look away first.
A creamy delicate hand reaches up to caress Zeph’s cheek, and it’s then that I notice the woman sitting in his lap. Her dress looks like the first dress Tysa made for me, and I don’t miss that Zeph’s hand is tucked into the front drape of fabric. She rubs the scruff on his square jaw and whispers something into his ear. I feel furious and betrayed and find myself rubbing at the ache in my chest. Pigeon wants to fly over there and shred this bitch into a million pieces, but I hold her back. She needs to see the truth once and for all so she can let this fucked up crush go.
Zeph breaks eye contact when the girl in his lap pulls his lips down to hers, and I look away, not sure if I want to rage, run, or fuck that image out of my head. Sutton returns right then and hands me a large stein full of something. I take it from him and immediately start chugging it down.
“Mmm, what is this?” I ask as I take a break from swallowing down half the stein’s contents.
Sutton laughs and then reaches up and wipes away a foam mustache from my top lip with his thumb. He pops his thumb in his mouth, and it’s hot as fuck. “It’s meade,” he tells me and then takes a deep pull of his own mug, his sage green eyes alight with heat.
“Fuck it, let’s dance,” I order as I slam back the rest of my meade and drop the empty cup on the closest table. Sutton does the same, laughing as I grab his hand and pull him out amidst the other dancers.
“I thought the twirly ones were bad,” he tells me on a laugh, stepping closer to me so I can hear him over the music and other couples.
I lean into him, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck and pulling his ear close to my lips. “Well, you look like the big, strong, protective type. Think you can protect my virtue while we’re out on this dance floor?” I tease. I pull back, and Sutton’s pupils dilate as his eyes lock on to my lips.
“Now, show me your moves, big guy!”
17
Ifan my face as Sutton takes my hand and drags me off the dance floor. I’m flushed from laughter and movement, and smiling from ear to ear.
“I’ll grab us a drink,” he shouts over the noise, and I nod and point to where I’ll wait for him.
I weave my way over to our meeting point and release a relieved breath as the cloying heat of the fires dissipates, and I’m greeted by cooler air on the outskirts of the partying crowd. I spot the top of the cliff castle between the trees, and I give it my back as I turn and scan the crowd for Sutton. I spot him, two steins in hand, and wave him over.
“You’re an excellent dancer,” I offer as I accept the stein he hands my way and take a huge gulp. The sweet cold drink tastes amazing, and I moan at the flavor that explodes all over my tongue.
“Me? I was just trying to keep up with you. I thought you said you didn’t know these dances,” he tells me as he gulps his whole mug down in three seconds.
“I don’t, but they weren’t hard to pick up at all. They remind me of this dance I once saw inA Knight’s Tale.
“Who has a tail?” Sutton asks confused.
I laugh and wave the question away. “There were a lot more steps, but it reminds me of a more lyrical version of line dancing, which is a dance that people do where I come from. Although, I think the way my people dance most of the time would probably traumatize the entire Eyrie,” I admit, and I chuckle at the thought of the look on everyone’s face if I went out on the dance floor and twerked.
“How so?” Sutton asks, his eyes lit up with amusement.
