xiamara
AND THE MYSTERIOUS BOY
Sweat trailed down the side of Xia’s face as she threw her head back and laughed.
“Another,” she begged, linking her arms through that of her two best friends and encouraging them to join her when a new song began.
Gwen and Pendley agreed with shrieks of glee, and the three of them kicked out their feet, dancing in dizzying circles, laughing and dodging other groups of dancers they nearly collided with as they went.
“Oops, sorry,” they called as they weaved craftily through the melee. “Pardon us!”
Around them, dozens of torches surrounded the heart of the village square, lighting the night as the celebration of the harvest festival raged on.
An older generation of villagers sat on the hay bales that fenced in the sidelines of the dancing arena, watchin
