Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(61)
“Is it true that you’re a dancer?” Zariza asked, cutting in and cutting me off.
I blinked, surprised by the change in topic. I had expected some pointed questions about my attack on Maximus, not an inquiry about my dancing skills.
“Oh, it’s true,” Xenia smoothly answered for me. “Why, earlier this year, Everleigh performed the most beautiful rendition of the Tanzen Freund that I have ever seen.”
“Even more beautiful than the one I did for your sixtieth birthday a few years ago?” Zariza challenged.
“Yes,” Xenia said without hesitation. “You stumbled in the final section, remember? Queen Everleigh did not. Plus, your hand movements were terribly sloppy. I taught you better than that, but apparently you had forgotten all my lessons. Everleigh did not.”
I grimaced, really wishing that she would stop saying my name. I didn’t know what game Xenia was playing with her cousin, but hot, peppery anger blasted off Zariza, and the amber eyes of her inner ogre narrowed to thin slits. I might have insulted the queen, but Xenia had enraged her.
The Ungerian queen eyed her cousin a moment longer, then looked at me. “Tell me, Everleigh. Do you also know the Tanzen Falter?”
I had to bite my tongue to hold back a groan. Xenia had said that Zariza would challenge me to perform the Tanzen Falter during the Regalia. I just hadn’t thought it would be at one of the balls in front of everyone. I should have known better, though. The Ungers loved dancing as much as they did fighting. To them, they were one and the same.
“Why are you asking her that?” Xenia said in a sharp tone, once again answering for me, and obviously steering the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go. “What do you expect? That Everleigh will agree to perform the dance right here and now?”
Zariza took a sip of her apple brandy, then used the glass to gesture around the ballroom. “We have a dance floor, musicians, and an audience of Ungers to judge the competition. That’s all we need.”
Xenia’s lips pressed together, as though she were most unhappy, but she reeked of smug triumph. Zariza was doing exactly what the older woman wanted. The two of them seemed to have a very strange relationship, one that was a mix of competition and affection, much like Xenia’s was with Serilda.
“You must forgive Zariza,” Xenia said. “She’s so used to getting her own way that she doesn’t realize we aren’t in Unger right now.”
Zariza sniffed, dismissing her cousin’s argument, then focused on me again. “Regardless, my point remains the same. So, Everleigh, will you perform the Tanzen Falter? That way, we can settle this silly nonsense about who is the best dancer once and for all.”
More smug satisfaction rolled off of Xenia, but I bit back another groan. Why couldn’t someone, anyone, just bloody align with me because it was the right thing to do? But no, we royals had to duel with cutting words and dirty looks. And now, apparently, another bloody dance. I wondered if Zariza would try to have me executed if she won, as was the Ungerian tradition. Probably not, given the fact that Paloma and Captain Auster were lurking nearby. Well, that was something, I supposed.
Still, if I was going to dance to Zariza’s tune, then I was getting something in return. Something other than sore, tired, aching feet.
“Very well. I will perform the Tanzen Falter—on one condition.”
Zariza arched her eyebrow again. “What?”
I looked at the ogre on her neck, then at her face, just like I had done with Ruri earlier. “If I win, then you will publicly, formally align Unger with Bellona and Andvari right here and now in front of everyone.”
Zariza arched her eyebrow even higher, then glanced at her cousin.
Xenia shrugged, although she couldn’t quite hide her grin. “I told you she was bold. You’re the one who suggested the dance. It is only fair that Everleigh suggest the prize.”
Zariza sniffed again. “And what do I get if I win?”
I racked my brain, trying to come up with something significant that wouldn’t be seen as an insult, given what was at stake on her side. Desperate, I glanced at Xenia, who shrugged. She might have set this up, but she couldn’t help me with the prize. Still, the longer I stared at Xenia, the more I thought about Castle Asmund, her home, where I had performed the Tanzen Freund. An idea popped into my mind.
“I’ll give you Winterwind, my family’s estate in the Spire Mountains. It’s not too far from Unger. You could turn it into a summer retreat, if you like.” I didn’t mention the fact that the property had been in ruins ever since the Mortans had killed my parents.
“A summer home in Bellona.” Her face brightened. “I like the sound of that. Deal.”
She stuck out her hand, and we shook on it. I started to let go, but Zariza tightened her grip and stepped closer.
“I hope you can dance as well as my cousin says,” she purred. “Otherwise I’m going to be very disappointed in you, Everleigh.”
I wasn’t sure whether the words were a threat, but I decided to respond in kind. “Oh, you’re going to be disappointed—when you lose.”
She blinked, as did the ogre on her neck. Both narrowed their eyes, and they studied me more closely, as though they were truly seeing me for the first time.
“Oh, yes,” Zariza purred again. “This is going to be fun.”