Page 103 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens

“Where did you find him?” Florence crouched, rubbing Silver’s chin.

Her glorious gold dress matched the sunshine smile on her face; her divine curls graciously fell down her shoulders.

“I’m not sure I was the one to find him,” I smiled, pinning up the front strands of hair off my face when the music reached us all the way from the ballroom, charging my body with a foreign excitement.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Florence exclaimed, tracing the movement of my hands. “I have something for you.” She smiled mischievously as she handed me a small pouch attached to her belt.

“For me?” My brows furrowed when I carefully pulled on the ribbon of the pouch, taking the mysterious item out.

A bronze brooch of a moth with dozens of dark green and brown beads sewed onto its wings.

“I thought you might like it,” Florence shrugged.

“It’s beautiful,” I nodded; my fingers brushed over the tracery of the brooch.

“It was my sister’s.” Florence attached the brooch to my dress next to the emerald amulet on my chest. “I want you to have it.”

“Are you certain?” I searched her eyes that shimmered from the candlelight.

“Absolutely,” Florence smiled. “Ready?”

I took a long breath in. “Ready.”

The music vibrated through my bones as I leaned on the wall in the corner of the glorious room that was now overflowing with dozens of candles and glasses of wine.

No matter the smiles on our guests’ faces, the room was filled with gloominess: the events of the last month flowed overhead like a rainy cloud. The laughter felt forced, the dances less passionate.

Simon nodded once at me when our gazes met before he returned to his drink. Florence and Roxanne were nowhere to be seen.

Caleb was still missing.

“May I ask for a dance?” Francis stretched out his hand as he walked towards me.

“No bargaining tonight?” I frowned theatrically. “Why, Francis, are you ill?”

“I am afraid I have nothing else to offer.” A small smile tugged on his lips, yet his eyes filled with a longing I had yet to witness him bear.

“Is everything all right?” I whispered.

“Please dance with me, Princess.” Nothing of the playful, arrogant man I’d come to trust was left in his voice.

“All right,” I nodded as my fingers brushed over his, accepting the request.

His hand gently fell around my waist; his fingers brushed along my skin as he spun us into a lazy dance. My eyelids closed in the embrace, letting the music sweep over me. As though an invisible strand pulled me closer to the man before me, I could never wish for our dance to end.

The music blurred into a frenzied resonance as my soul sung a song of her own: a song in a language I was yet to understand.

I cared not to think of my steps, leaving Francis as my only guide when the music seemed to stop completely. The ballroom blurred around us as I searched his hypnotizing eyes.

He did not smile as he bestowed me with the most heartbroken look I could not make sense of. He studied me as if I was a puzzle he’d been trying to solve for centuries. Admiring his features, I stared back.

“Walk with me?” Francis whispered into my ear before searching my eyes.

I nodded as he weaved his fingers through mine, guiding me away from the ballroom.

The muffled music stilled when Francis closed the door to his study behind us. An odd knot tightened around my heart as he stood before me: plea in his eyes.

“Could we talk?” Francis whispered.