“If he grabs you like that again, I want you to spear him through the middle with light,” he commands, that serious, unflinching leader emerging in his tone and expression.

“Noted.”

The Solstice dinner passes in joyful celebration. The people open up over the course of the evening, and I speak to many of them about their lives and what they lost in the attack. Though it breaks my heart, I feel hope—for the first time in a long time—that we’ll be able to rebuild and stop the rebellion. I wish Nemesia were here. She’d love seeing the people brought together like this, even though she’d pretend she hated the party. I smile inwardly thinking of her dressed up in a gown for a fancy dinner. She’d probably wear her fighting leathers underneath it, knowing her.

“This was a wonderful idea,” Admon leans over and says to me, interrupting my thoughts of Nemesia. I can’t help but agree. We clink our glasses together in a toast, and his eyes twinkle in a fatherly approval that makes me pull my shoulders back proudly. When dinner is over, Silene stands from her seat next to me.

“I hope you all enjoyed the delicious food. I certainly did. Now, we dance!” With a dramatic hand gesture, several advisors escort musicians into the room. They set up and begin with a lively tune.

Silene walks along the table, encouraging people to get up and dance. She’s asked to dance by practically every male in the room, but she turns them all away, preferring instead to run around chasing children while they scream with glee. Thorne and Fionn, on the other hand, are each led to the dance floor by females, though Fionn doesn’t look happy about it. Aria has her hand wrapped around Thorne’s, and she laughs at something he says. Steaming jealousy rears its head inside of me again. Silene seems oblivious, content to let her fiancé dance with a gorgeous and lust-filled female. Maybe they really are just friends.

“Laurel, would you dance with me?” Carex asks, startling me from my brooding. Although I want to say no, I need to distract myself. Taking Carex’s hand, he leads me to the dance floor just as a slow and traditional Solstice dance begins. Carex wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close as we sway to the music.

“This reminds me of our first Solstice together,” he says, voice low. “I think it was this very song that we danced to that night.”