Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(62)

For the third time in as many minutes, all I could do was bite back a groan.





Chapter Fourteen


Zariza strode out to the center of the room, clapped her hands, and announced that she was commandeering the area for the Tanzen Falter.

Driscol looked absolutely shocked that someone would dare usurp his ball, and he kept opening and closing his mouth, as if he didn’t know what to say. Zariza’s pronouncement also wiped the vacant smile off Seraphine’s face, and her lips puckered, as though she’d bitten into something sour.

My nose twitched. This was the first time I’d seen Seraphine show any real emotion, and I could smell her hot, peppery anger all the way across the room. She was royally pissed that Zariza had taken over the ball. Interesting. I would have expected Driscol to be the angriest, since he was the head of their family, but he seemed lost more than anything else, and he kept glancing at his sister, as if she could somehow stop this.

But there was no stopping Zariza. The Ungerian queen ignored the DiLucris, ordered the floor to be cleared, and went over to talk to the musicians.

Sullivan and I were still standing next to Xenia, and Paloma and Auster came over to us, as did Serilda and Cho.

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Xenia a flat look. “You said that Zariza would challenge me to perform the Tanzen Falter during a private meeting. Not that you were going to manipulate us into dancing at a royal ball. This is not what we discussed.”

Xenia shrugged. “I didn’t manipulate anything. I merely suggested something that Zariza was already considering. She always challenges someone to dance during one of the balls, and I figured that it might as well be you.”

“Wonderful.”

She ignored my sarcasm. “Besides, this was the easiest and most expedient way to get your alliance. Especially since people keep trying to kill you. Don’t you want Unger’s support before you die?”

I sighed. As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point, and the chances of me making it through the Regalia alive were not good.

“Please tell me the penalty for losing this dance isn’t immediate execution,” Paloma said, glancing over at Zariza, who was still talking to the musicians.

“Nope,” I replied. “Just the loss of my family’s home.”

“Ah,” Paloma said, her voice as matter-of-fact as Xenia’s had been. “A bargain, then.”

Despite the fact that it was in ruins, the thought of losing Winterwind still filled me with despair, but Paloma was right. Losing a home was far better than losing my life. But in some ways, the stakes were much, much higher than if we had been dancing to the death. Gaining an alliance with Unger would help protect Bellona and all her people—including myself—from the Mortans.

Cho glanced at Xenia, then me. “So this is the dance she’s been teaching you for the last several weeks.”

“Teaching?” I snorted. “More like beating it into me with her bloody cane.”

Xenia twirled her cane out to the side and dipped into a small curtsy before straightening. I gave her a sour look.

“Well, no matter the stakes, Zariza looks like she wants to win.” Auster eyed the other queen, who was now stabbing her finger at the musicians, giving them order after order.

Zariza stabbed her finger at the musicians a final time, then strode out to the center of the ballroom. She made several sharp shooing motions with her hands, and people shuffled back, creating an opening around her.

Once Zariza was satisfied that there was enough room, she stepped out of her heels and scooted them off to the side. Then she planted her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows, clearly daring me to step forward.

“Here we go again,” I muttered.

But Xenia was right. This was the quickest, easiest, and least dangerous way to get what I wanted, so I stepped out of my own sandals and strode to the center of the dance floor. The other royals, nobles, advisors, servants, and guards tiptoed forward, trying to get the best view possible. I glanced around, but I didn’t see Maximus, Maeven, or any of the Mortans. Well, at least they wouldn’t be here to see me humiliate myself, if it came down to that.

I stopped about five feet away from Zariza and dropped into a traditional Bellonan curtsy. She responded with an Ungerian curtsy. Then we both straightened and raised our hands into the first position.

Zariza grinned, and the smell of her smug satisfaction swirled through the air. The Ungerian queen thought that I couldn’t possibly beat her, especially not at her own kingdom’s dance and tradition.

Anger sparked in my heart that she wasn’t taking me seriously, and I latched on to the emotion. Zariza might be Xenia’s cousin and a queen in her own right, but nobody dismissed me, and I was going to enjoy wiping that smirk off her face.

Winning was always the best revenge.

So I smiled back at her, showing even more teeth than the ogre on her neck was.

Showtime.

*

The opening strains of the music began. Zariza stared at me, and I looked right back at her.

Unlike the Tanzen Freund, which was to demonstrate friendship, the Tanzen Falter was a competition, pure and simple. The two dancers stared at each other while performing, and then, at the end, the audience decided the winner by clapping and cheering for the person they thought had done the best rendition. Whoever got the loudest and most enthusiastic applause won. Not an exact method, to be sure, but it was fair enough.