Page 57 of A Thief to Die For

Her mask is gone, and it’s like I’m truly seeing her. It’s difficult not to stare.

Marian drifts closer, taking my other hand, and I could lift a wagon with the energy that slams through me. ‘I suppose you should be warned, I don’t really know how to dance.’

‘Then we’ll do our own thing,’ I say, reeling her into me and moving one of my hands to her lower back. I begin to rock us slowly. She twines our fingers. She’s not the first girl I’ve danced with, but she is the first who has me struggling to breathe, scared I’ll somehow mess this up. ‘Is this okay?’ I ask. Without thinking, I brush my thumb over the calluses on her palm, secretly pleased that they match my own. She must do an incredible amount of weapons training.

She smiles. ‘This is perfect.’ Her gaze shifts to the women who are spinning and jumping in unison. ‘They probably wouldn’t want me over there with them anyway.’

‘I don’t know about that.’

She dips her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. That’s not something I need to risk tonight. But one day I want to learn that dance. Doesn’t the spinning look fun? Sometimes I watch them from within the trees.’

She tries to hide it, but I see the longing on her face. It makes me wonder who she spends her time with if not the Dresden?

I spin her away from me. The skirt of her dress flares out, then wraps tightly around her legs as she comes to a stop. She laughs and I pull her back, my arm curling around her waist. We’re so close our faces are only inches apart. It reminds me of last night. Of our brief kiss – a kiss I very much want to repeat. ‘For spinning, that’s the best I can do.’

She’s breathless. ‘Excellent work,’ she whispers.

My heart thumps wildly as we return to swaying back and forth. ‘This is how we dance where I come from …’ I say into her ear.

Where I come from? Am I really not going to tell her anything about myself?

‘You’re very good at it.’ Then she surprises me by tucking her head under my chin.

It feels like the perfect metaphor for what my gut and every part of me has been hinting at all along: we fit.

‘Tell me about your day.’ I inhale. She smells so good – of soap and maybe flowers and something that makes me want to bury my face in her neck. ‘Were you busy?’

‘Yes. Mostly, I kept an eye on Soren. I’m scared he’ll take matters into his own hands again. I don’t trust him.’

The relaxed ease in my muscles disappears. ‘And?’

‘And … he behaved. Shockingly. Though he did look like he wanted to punch me in the face.’

‘Are you in danger of that?’ My words are deceptively calm.

Soren and I are definitely going to have that chat.

‘Soren’s always been like this. Hot then cold. Moodier than a wet cat and loves to hold a grudge, especially since …’ She shrugs, not finishing. ‘It doesn’t matter. If he attacks me, he’ll be risking the Commander’s wrath.’

Which he had no problem risking last night by setting the Dresden Circle on fire.

‘Hopefully justice is coming for him,’ she says. ‘Atlas won’t tolerate anything that harms his business.’

That doesn’t put me any more at ease, and my arms tighten around her protectively. ‘I wanted to tell you – I’m not just a soldier; I’m an elite guard. We’re trained to always work in pairs. Maybe … you and I should stick together.’

She hums, thinking it over, and I feel it vibrate through me like a tuning fork. There’s so much more I want to tell her, but the hairs on the back of my neck prickle like we’re being watched. I glance over.

It’s Rufus. His unfocused eyes watch us, his posture leaning, threatening to spill the contents of his mug. All at once, the unpleasant reality that he’s my father comes crashing back.

Reluctantly, I pull back from Marian. ‘Can we go somewhere? How about the waterfall?’

‘This your girl?’ Rufus calls loudly. ‘Don’t you want to introduce her to your father?’

My eyes close. Of course he did that. ‘You’re drunk, Rufus,’ I snap over my shoulder. ‘Go home.’

By some miracle it works. Except now I’m riled up as we leave. I stop short. ‘Wait – your ankle.’

She shakes her head. ‘It’s okay. But we should –’ She snags a hanging lantern from a table. ‘Now let’s go.’