He drew his head back and the firelight danced on his face.

But I saw nothing but the night sky in his eyes.

Oh my.

Prince Cassius was furious.

Those night eyes moved over my face and then he murmured, “You do not know the allure of your smiles, and thus you did not understand their potency or your actions.” His gaze captured mine. “Now you do. So I will ask again. Am I understood?”

I felt it wise in that moment to answer, “Yes, Cassius.”

“Good,” he whispered, the stars blinked out of his eyes and he drew farther away, but still held me close as he reached for his chalice.

I dragged in deep breaths, lifting my goblet to my lips to hide doing so.

“And I shall repeat, you are very lucky, dark prince,” Silvanus said low.

“We shall see,” Cassius replied before taking in some wine.

“Ah yes!” Silvanus suddenly shouted. “Now we dance.”

And as if he willed it, music filled the air from guitars and fiddles playing across the glade.

Three women approached me.

Cass’s arm disappeared as one woman took the chalice from my hand and set it aside then the other two took my hands and pulled me to my feet.

“Music! Wine! Dance! Beautiful women!” Silvanus cried while the women dragged me away from the cushions. “Life is for the living! Thus, we must live!”

One woman lifted her arms in arcs over her head, keeping eye contact with me as much as she could as she whirled, her skirt swirling out in a wide circle around her, then she stopped, stepping forward side to side, before lifting her arms and twirling again.

“You! You!” the other women called, clapping and pointing at me while stepping and swirling.

I did not look back at Cassius and Silvanus.

I was confused.

He told me he did not wish to be with me and then moved to protect me, behaved with jealousy and shared in no uncertain terms I belonged to him.

I did not understand him, and I had a strong feeling it had little to do with the fact I had not lived amongst men and I had little contact with them throughout my life.

He was naught like True.

He was also naught like what I had noted of Mars, or any of Cassius’s men (or True’s).

But as I swayed to the music, caught up in the bright skirts, firelight, clapping and laughing, I emulated the movements of the women around me, heartened by their encouraging smiles, and lost myself to the dance, deciding not to think on this.

For Silvanus was right.

Life was for the living.

And in that moment, I decided to let all that was happening go.

And just live.

Prince Cassius

In a Glade, One Hundred Miles from The Northwest Border of The Enchantments

WODELL