Page 48 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)

A MANUAL ON HOW TO BECOME A DUCHESS IN ONE NIGHT

“ G et up, Little Witch,” the voice bounced off the walls as Violette lazily cracked her eyes. And closed them again.

“It won't work that way,” Dante said and she could feel like something – someone – pulled her ankles.

Her eyes opened wide before she kicked him with her leg.

“What do you want?!” she fumed.

“Time for a lesson on how to become a duchess in a few hours.”

Violette could swear she heard the fun in his voice but she didn't look at him, instead she closed her eyes in the middle of his speech and rolled over with her back to him, continuing her sleep.

Then she heard a deep tired sigh, and already started thinking it's him giving up and leaving her alone but then she felt the tossing of the pillow and her head slammed on the bed surface.

It's okay, she can sleep without a pillow.

She had no desire to get up right now; she didn't know how long she was sleeping but she was certainly sure it wasn't a long time ago when her body touched the bedsheets for the first time.

She was tired. But Dante probably wasn't bothered by that.

She yawned and then she realized something was keeping her away from the bed.

“Hey!” she yelled, happening to be in Dante's hands.

“Oh, sorry, did I interfere with your sleep?” He ironically grinned as she cut him a look full of enmity.

A pinch twitched between her brows. “What is your problem?” she blew.

“Have I finally caught your attention?” His face turned stoic.

“Is that how you get girls' attention?”

“Only stubborn ones like you. Will you listen now?”

“Only when you put me down!” she tossed, trying to break out of his arms.

“So you can crawl to your bed again?”

“Exactly. I'm happy we're finally understanding each other,” she tapped him on his chest and tried once again to wriggle out of his hands but it didn't seem like he had any intention to let her go.

“We don't have much time before the ball. And you need to give a good impression on the Lord, or he won't believe a word from your mouth.”

“Wasn't it you who said I am attractive and smart?” She strained through a fake smile.

“Did my words get stuck in your head and make you think about me at night?” he teased and, Gods, she hated how it sounded.

“Put me down,” she ordered.

“Or what?”

She pierced him with an even more intense gaze and it finally made him agree with her.

“Only if you promise to not go to sleep again. We have work to do.”

“Just put me down,” Violette grumbled.

But he'd done no move, staring at her and waiting for the answer.

“Fine, yes. I'll do whatever you say.”

“Oh, really?” His mouth curled into a smirk. “Whatever I say?”

“I can't with you,” she puffed and her feet touched the floor.

“I see you really don't like to get up.”

“Yes, exactly, I don't like to be woken up by someone in the middle of the–”

Violette's gaze drooled to the window to check the time, and only met darkness. It was unlikely the sun would rise any time soon, and while she might claim she missed the sunlight, that wasn’t entirely honest. The sun remained oblivious to all misdeeds she’d committed over the past week, but the stars, the moon were different.

They knew, they saw; they felt more like confidants, keeping her secrets hidden from the daylight.

“Give me a second,” she yawned, stretching, “to dress.”

“You have a right to do whatever you want,” he sang and plopped down on her bed, throwing his hands behind his head.

“I said out.” Her finger pointed at the door.

He raised his hands in surrender and stalked to the exit.

“Call me when you're ready.”

Violette shook the last remnants of the doze away as she sat on the bed.

“I just want to remind you: if you can sleep less than humans it doesn't mean I can,” she murmured, trying to focus.

“I won't keep you up all night…unless you ask about it.”

“Oh, believe me, that is the least that I want,” she waved. A drowsy deep yawn escaped her mouth, making her wholly stretch. “Why didn't you say about it earlier? I thought we were done for tonight.”

“I didn't say good night.”

She side-eyed him. “It's your regular behavior.”

“Then maybe it was just an excuse to see this pinch between your brows,” his lips stretched in a grin.

Violette frowned.

“Anyway, what’s now? What you wanted to teach me, uh, the master and expert of noble society?” she taunted, leaning with her palms on the bed.

“I might impress you a little.” A restrained smile came across his face, while his fingers reached to a music box with a little gramophone inside on the fireplace. The enchanting and soothing melody began to play, filling the room with new colors.

“Why do we need music?” Violette wondered .

“Did you ever hear what people do at balls?”

“I know about the dancing part. Don't say you will teach me how to dance.” She waved her hand, not believing this creature knew at least something about ballroom dancing, despite how gracefully he'd moved.

“Do you know how to dance?” he asked, ignoring her bitterness.

“I–” she started but then paused. “Not really. I mean, I think I know something about it but I didn't really practice anything.”

“This is the reason why we are awake right now,” he said and moved in her direction, then offered her a hand.

Her back straightened and she immediately rose on her feet.

“So, starting with steps. Nobody wants crippled legs after dancing, especially our dearest lord. Not until he shows you the map, at least.”

Violette lowered her head and looked at her legs. “I think I am not clumsy.”

“I didn't say you are. However, I would definitely argue about it,” Dante chuckled and

stepped closer to her, one of his hands wrapped around her waist, another reached to her palm.

Violette intently watched his movements, she felt unusually constrained, a knot tied in her stomach, confusion sneaked under her skin. Her shoulders strained as his touch sent shivers down her spine, his fingers gently intertwined with hers.

“Relax, Little Witch. You look like you have a test which your whole life depends on. It's just a dance.” He pulled her closer, his hand straightening her back, fingers running along her backbone.

Violette felt as her heart fluttered, a nervous feeling settled in her belly, it felt much more intimate than it looked.

The space between them shrunk, leaving too little to breathe.

Dante’s hands were warm and delicate, despite them being twice as big as hers.

But mostly that made her nervous was cluelessness to what she was even supposed to do, while he looked absolutely confident and gracile.

“The key in dancing is your stable legs and your confidence. The pattern is actually really easy, it contains six steps,” he said and moved forward. “Basically you just repeat everything your partner does but backwards.” He led her into the next three steps.

Violette felt like a doll, her legs were firm like a log before she adjusted. Her eyes settled on her feet and she had been feeling incredibly awkward until Dante stole her attention.

“What are you doing?” he inquired and it made her eyes raise to his. The line between his brows testified to his bafflement.

“Counting steps.”

Hesitation in her voice only confused him more. “Why?”

“Isn't that what waltzing is? You said it yourself, your legs should be stable,” her gaze dropped back to her shoes.

“You will never learn how to dance if you keep staring at your feet. Raise your eyes.”

And she did as he said. Her eyes met his.

He looked so graceful; almost like he could be a duke himself.

Even with the bizarre mask obscuring half of his face, his confident demeanor radiated a remarkable sense of sophistication.

And it made Violette get lost in the depths of his eyes for a while.

In this light they didn't look as gloomy and dark.

The riddle she wanted to solve behind what was hidden in them was still haunting her.

And she could swear, for a second, under a certain angle of light his eyes flashed with a dark blue hue.

She reminded herself to keep count. Her legs seemed heavy and her movements weren't as natural as Dante's, despite how much of an unnatural thing he was.

“You think too much,” Dante remarked. “Your head is full of unnecessary thoughts and fears. Let it go. Feel the music. Feel the rhythm and let your feet lead you.”

Her eyes dropped to her feet again as she almost stumbled over his leg.

“No. Keep your eyes on me. The waltz is about eye contact, Little Witch. It's a connection, creating a special bond. If you want to charm the young Lord you should look in his eyes. A long stare and he will feel the click.”

She looked in Dante's eyes. A long stare and he will feel the click.

Can Dante feel this click too? It's been said the eyes are the mirror of the soul.

But what about eyes which belong to someone who doesn't have a soul?

Because it died a long time ago? His eyes sparkled in the dim light of the lamp but it still was full of darkness and secrets.

“Are you not afraid I'll charm you too if I stare at you too long?” she let out a tease, flirtatiously smiling.

This earned her a soft smile.

“Why do you think I am not already under your spells?”

“We both know it's not true,” despite how simply it sounded from her mouth it settled a strange feeling inside her.

A sadness, by chance? If she'd think about this she'd get scared to find out it pleased her to know Dante is charmed by her presence.

Meanwhile, he didn't say anything, only continued leading her in the dance.

Soon enough Violette broke the silence to scatter this feeling away. “Did you often attend balls?”

“I grew up in a place where balls were a big part of everyone's life. My evenings were occupied by dancing pretty often,” he said, his voice didn't radiate any delight.

“Did you like it?”

“I didn't mind it.”