Page 36 of Fortress of Ambrose (House of Marionne #3)

Twenty-Nine

Yagrin

Yagrin lay in bed all night, tossing and turning.

When he finally drifted off, he dreamed he fell asleep beside Nore but woke up the next morning to her bones.

When he climbed out of bed, he stepped onto his deck and stretched.

Nore was already grazing a tray of fresh fruit and in discussions with a Vestiser.

She didn’t even look his way. He felt sick for hurting her.

“You’re awake finally.” His Vestiser appeared out of nowhere and ushered him back inside.

When he had his style for the evening picked out, his wardrobe maker shifted him a casual pair of slacks and a crew neck to wear that day.

He dressed and hurried out to the latched gate to wait for Nore.

But he waited and waited until he realized she’d gone to breakfast without him.

I deserve that. If he was more like his brother, he’d have been more restrained developing feelings for someone.

But her mind was beautiful. Listening to her talk and watching her think inspired him.

It felt so easy with her, as if he’d known her a lifetime.

He’d never felt this way about anyone other than Red.

Nore was like her but different. It was hard to explain.

He lost his appetite, climbed the deck of his small house, and buried himself back under the covers.

When evening came Yagrin awoke tangled in his covers.

The sky outside was dim. He’d slept through most of the day.

When he sat up in bed, his gaze snapped to the small house across the way.

His heart pattered in his chest when he saw Nore curled up on her bed, reading.

He craned for a better view of what she’d been doing.

He’d spent every day with her the last several weeks.

It was strange to just not talk with her at all. Feelings aside, weren’t they a team?

He rose from his bed and stood in the window.

She didn’t look up. He had a sneaking suspicion she could feel him watching, but he turned his attention to the evening ahead, showering and pulling on his dark suit.

He polished his mask in the mirror, trying very hard not to look across the way at her.

He checked his watch, and at a quarter to seven, he stepped out on the deck and returned to the latched gate.

She wouldn’t leave him tonight. She wouldn’t risk their plan.

They’d agreed they had roles to play to get in the good graces of Oralia and find their piece of the Scroll.

He heard her before he saw her, heels clacking on the garden pavers.

When he turned, the sight of her took his breath away.

She wore a dark green gown with a simple silver headband on her head, reminiscent of an Ambrose diadem.

Her long red hair was swept up into an ornate style.

Her face was made up in soft natural colors that looked like she wasn’t wearing anything on her face at all.

He gaped, the closer she came. The beading on her gown was intricately woven with gems that sparkled brilliantly in the moonlight.

The neckline plunged down her torso, revealing a gold pattern that was hand-painted onto her skin.

He tried to find words, but none of them seemed adequate to describe how beautiful she was.

He unlatched the gate, and she walked through.

The back of her gown was a mirror to the front, continuing the ornate detail and body paint.

A gold comb was tucked into her hair, and from it hung shimmery emeralds.

He opened the car door for her, but before he could find words, she slid inside and pulled the door closed.

The scent of her filled the car, and it felt like fire on his skin. She looked at him. Despite her make-up, her eyes were slightly puffy from a night of crying. His heart fractured against his ribs. Nore deserved better.

He opened his mouth to speak but thought of Red.

It had been so long since he’d seen her, held her, spoke with her.

And there was Nore, in the flesh, only inches away, with a strong heartbeat in her chest. Maybe it was better this way.

He liked her. And she really liked him. His heart twisted.

He loved Red desperately. Their moments together were stars on the darkest of nights.

As long as Red was a possibility, Nore couldn’t be.

He closed his mouth and stared out the window.

They rode to the main house in silence. Tonight they had a role to play, and if they succeeded, he’d have the Scroll and he wouldn’t have to fight these feelings anymore.

He had to go through with taking the Scroll for himself.

He owed that to Red, whose life was stolen too early because of him.

Maybe he could figure out another way to help Nore avoid becoming Headmistress. Maybe he could still kidnap Isla or take on Ellery himself. He didn’t want to leave her without any options, but he wasn’t ready to give up on his plans either.

When they stepped out of the car, the melody of a piano beckoned them to a rotunda.

This one was as beautiful as Corporeal House.

The event was decked out in towering floral displays, sleek chandeliers, linens, sashes, painted sculptures, and more, all in an explosion of rich, deep colors.

Aerial silk dancers hung from the ceilings, and ballerinas performed to music on raised platforms all over the rotunda.

Everywhere was art. He caught Nore smiling. He smiled, too.

A few guests lingered on the fringe of the room, chattering and sipping. But a dozen couples danced in the center. Eyes followed them as they entered the gala. And he couldn’t blame them. Nore was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. His heart thrummed. This was their moment.

He held out his hand. “Shall we?”

She met his eyes for the first time that night, slipping her fingers into his. “I hope you’re a good dancer,” she said.

“You’re about to find out.” In truth, he hated dancing.

Of course he was good at it. The way he was raised left him no choice.

He was skilled in all social graces. He just didn’t care for them very much.

But tonight he would dance better than he ever had.

They would sell this act. And the pain he was causing Nore would be done.

He still had Ellery to deal with, but he had ideas about how to pull that off if worse came to worst. He lifted his chin and led with his left foot.

The music took him. It had been so long since he’d danced.

He moved with the melody, holding the steps a bit longer than the box step called for.

And she followed his every movement without missing a beat.

He pulled her closer to him, his arm tight around her waist. She fit against him, in his arms, just right.

Like she belonged there. She swayed with his movement.

Backward. Forward. Then they turned as if they were one.

As the music switched to a peppier cadence, Yagrin released her waist and turned her out, letting go of her hand.

She moved like the music was inside her, bouncing around in her bones.

She held her skirts to show off her footwork, tapping her heel and toe in a rhythm to the measure.

He laced his fingers behind himself, the music nudging him with the next step.

They touched elbows, rotated and touched elbows again.

The teases of closeness with her only made him eager for the next count where he could pull her close again.

She curtsied, and he extended his arms, inviting her back to him.

She grabbed his hands and held on with a tightness, a request to never let her go.

And it ruined him. He wanted to hold on to her, too.

He wanted to live in the present. Nore was here.

Now. He squeezed her hand with both of his, clinging to their grip.

Her whole countenance brightened. Her smile deepened, tiny lines reaching her eyes.

It felt good to make her feel good. The more eagerly she danced, the more the music began to feel like it beat inside Yagrin, lightening the weight on his shoulders.

He danced harder, letting himself breathe in this moment and enjoy it for what it was.

He worked his body, each dance step, sharply, precisely, until he lost any awareness of the world around them.

“You’re good,” he said.

And this is…fun.

Her cheeks were pink. He could feel her racing heart through her fingertips.

He zipped up the space between their bodies, holding her close to him.

Their faces touched, cheek to cheek as they swayed for the next four count.

The heat of her made his own heart leap.

The music jumped. They spun bodies pressed together.

The notes rose higher and faster, and they went around and around and around, quicker each time.

She giggled, scents of honeysuckle and lavender swallowing him.

He slowed them down, and when they’d nearly stopped, he spun her out and let her go one last time, preparing for the finish.

“Can you do it?” he asked.

“Can you?” She smirked in that sly way she did, and it made him grin.

He steadied himself, bracing to catch her. She padded toward him quickly. His hands grazed her ribs as he gripped her tightly. She trembled. Her stare bored into him as he lifted her in the air.

“I have you.”

She let go of his shoulders, swept her arms overhead, and bent back for the finish.

The audience around them exploded in applause.

He brought her body down, sliding against his, carefully.

He set her on her feet. Her arms roped around his shoulders, placing her lips a breath away from his.

They froze as the final measure of the song played.

The audience roared louder when it finished.

Litze Oralia watched from the refreshments table, slamming her hands together.

He couldn’t breathe. Everything he wanted to say tangled in his head.

“I am so sorry that I hurt you,” he said as more applause roared around them.

“Yagrin—”

“Listen, please. I really like you. I like being with you. But you deserve someone who isn’t holding back from you.”

“You don’t have to hold back from me,” she said as he loosened their embrace.

“I do.” If Red couldn’t be brought back to life, then he wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. But those words would hurt her more than they would help. He was many things. But loyal to those he loved most of all. “Because—”

“Encore,” the audience shouted. “Encore!”

Nore squeezed his hand, and the joy in her eyes sent a thrill racing across his skin. He pulled her into him in an embrace, and the applause turned to cheers. Nore nuzzled his neck. Her mouth found his ear.

“We are their feature presentation,” she said, pressing against him, and it felt like a puzzle piece of him just slid into place.

“Alright, alright,” he announced, and signaled for the Audior to play something slower this time. “Ready?” he asked her.

“I’ve been ready, Yagrin. I am just waiting on you.”

His heart did funny things in his chest. The music began, and they swayed slowly for the first few beats. Several joined them on the dance floor. Nore’s arms were around him, and he let himself gaze squarely into her eyes.

“I couldn’t have done this with anyone but you.

” That was true. There were things about Nore he adored that were different from Red.

Nore was the right person for this moment, for this situation he found himself in in life.

He wouldn’t regret that. How could he regret feeling things for someone like her?

She was a walking anomaly that defied everything about the Order.

He loved that about her most. Her audacity.

To just exist as she is. That was something Red would never be able to understand. A whole part of him she would miss.

“What are you thinking?”

“That I wish this song would never end.” His chin hit his chest. It felt wrong to say.

But this moment was so sweet, so unaffected, so pure, he wanted to keep it.

His life had been a continuous reel of disappointment.

Even with Red, he had to leave. He couldn’t just be with her all the time like he wanted. But with Nore…His chest ached.

“You’re torturing yourself,” she said. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“It’s just very complicated.”

“It’s not.” She stopped dancing.

“Nore?”

She exhaled. “There’s something I have to tell you.”