Spellbound

Chapter 12

    “You know you’re staring,” Blynca’s bubbly voice whispered in Alton’s ear. He nearly coughed up his wine as he leaned away from her. She stepped back with a hearty laugh, her slightly wide frame trembling with her terrible snorts.

    Alton cleared his throat and straightened out the wrinkles on his blazer, his hands brushing against the frills that gushed from his collar. He tried to feign nonchalance. He never liked being at the other end of teasing. “Nosy as always, Blynca. And I wasn’t staring at anything. What are you on about?”

    But, of course, Blynca had known Alton since he first stepped foot in the palace, and she could read him almost as well as she could tease. “Oh, don’t act like it’s nothing. You haven’t stopped staring at the dancefloor for a good five minutes now. Not even when I was prattling on about…” she lowered her voice and leaned into his ear once more, “Mitsy.”

    “Ah, yes.” Alton raised a brow, ceasing the chance to turn the tables around. “Your secret affair. It’d be a shame if Mitsy found out you were bragging about your so-called conquest, now wouldn’t it?”

    Blynca exaggerated her offended expression, her mouth widening into a large circle and her hand reaching up to her exposed chest. Her sparkly white dress barely reached her breasts, and there was a slit that cut above her thigh. If she walked with wide enough steps, she’d leave almost nothing to the imagination. She always did like to push her fashion to the limits. “You wouldn’t.”

    Alton let out his own hearty laugh, almost mimicking Blynca’s own. He had the pleasure of seeing his old friend’s face turn a rich shade of scarlet. As crass as Blynca liked to be, she had somehow managed to convince the palace maid, Mitsy, that she was as poised as a princess.

    Of course, there was also the danger of being found out. If Blynca’s family, the renowned noble Olesons, or anyone else found out of her preference for women, she could be ostracized, shunned by everyone she knew, and disowned. It was only by chance that Alton found out when he’d accidentally walked into a room thinking it was the washroom. It was a dangerous game Blynca was playing, even more so when she involved someone who lived in the palace, but she never did shy away from danger. In fact, Alton suspected the heightened stakes was the reason she’d pursued Mitsy in the first place.

    “I suppose I’m to blame for that.” Blynca rolled her eyes. “But it’s your fault that you’re the only one who can listen to me about this.”

    “Unfortunately.”

    “Oh, look at you acting like you have a burden. Admit it, Alton. You like hearing me talk about…” Once again, she lowered her voice, “what Mitsy and I do behind closed doors.”

    “Is it roasted boar tonight?” Alton raised his voice, deliberately ignoring her despite the heat that rose to his ears. He walked over to the buffet tables and plucked a rich slab of meat from a silver platter. For propriety’s sake, he plopped it onto a plate and grabbed a fork. “My, this is quite delectable!”

    Blynca rolled her eyes for the hundredth time that night. She waited for him to join her once more and remained quiet as Alton enjoyed his meal. He was setting his dish onto a server’s tray when she finally spoke again.

    “But, really. Tell me, Alton. You were staring at her, weren’t you?”

    “Who?” he asked even though he knew the answer.

    “The witch Senya.”

    As Blynca spoke her name, Senya whirled back into view on the dancefloor, her head thrown back in laughter from something her dance partner said.

    Alton opened his mouth to deny it, but when he met Blynca’s eyes, he knew she’d caught him staring again.

    “She is pretty,” Blynca said. “Perhaps I could attempt to snag her.”

    For some reason, Alton became defensive. “Keep away from her.”

    “Oh?” Blynca’s brows shot up into her hair. “Jealous, are you? Really, Alton? Am I a,” she slipped on a sly grin, “threat?”

    “I…” Alton shook his head, unable to believe how harsh he’d sounded. “I’m sorry, Blynca. That’s not…You can be friends with her, but that’s all.”

    “Oh, so it was her.” Blynca patted his shoulder. “I thought you said you thought of her as your younger sister.”

    “I do.”

    “Do you really?” Blynca watched him carefully, reading him with those careful experienced eyes of hers. Alton knew she knew he was lying.

    “Alton,” she took an uncharacteristically somber tone, “you can tell me anything. I’m your friend, am I not? I trust you enough to confide in you about my deepest secrets. You don’t have to struggle with it by yourself.”

    “What makes you think I’m struggling?” Alton’s eyes drew once again to the dancefloor. He itched to join her, to be the one making her laugh.

    You’ll break her, Rellon’s voice echoed in his ears. Don’t you know what you'll put her through?

    “You’re staring at her again,” Blynca said.

    “Shit.” Alton sighed and turned his back on her. He brushed back his hair and grabbed the tail tied near his neck. “I can’t, Blynca. She’s off limits.”

    “Shh.” Blynca touched his hand. “Not here. We can go somewhere private.”

    With a nod, Alton let the woman lead him to a secluded spot of the ballroom. They were hidden behind a curtain and a large potted plant, well away from everyone’s earshot and inconspicuous enough that no one would approach them with suspicion.

    “Do you want to talk about it?” Blynca prodded.

    Alton let out another sigh. He leaned against the corner wall and shoved his hands into his pockets. The lights on the ceiling seared into his eyes, and he rubbed them with a wish that he hadn’t had several glasses of wine.

    “When did it start?” Blynca offered.

    Alton gave into her questions. “A year ago, maybe two. I don’t know. It just…happened. I never thought of her as anything other than a sister, but one day, I had a sudden thought that she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I thought maybe she’d bewitched me on accident, and I’d get over it the next time I saw her, but…” He shrugged. “Here I am now. Rellon didn’t like it. He stopped inviting me to their house when I told him.”

    “You say she’s off limits?” Blynca glanced back at the dancefloor, but Alton couldn’t see Senya from this angle. “Why? I mean, I’m assuming it’s because her brother told you not to involve yourself with her, but is there a reason for it?”

    “A damn good one, Blynca.” Alton wanted to tear his hair out. The wine must have been getting to him. “She’s a witch.”

    “So?”

    “What do you mean, so?” Alton shook his head. “Do you know what’ll happen to her if I start courting her? People will accuse her of bewitching me. My own extended family will accuse her of bewitching me. And if by chance I marry her, she’ll be under pressure for being in a noble family. Witches don’t marry nobles. Witches are barely people in the public’s eye. I don’t want her to get hurt because of me. It’s better that I let her go.”

    Blynca took a moment to process what he said. Alton felt slightly better about letting it all out. He couldn’t exactly talk about this particular problem with anyone, especially not Rellon.

    “Do you love her?” Blynca asked.

    Alton blinked, surprised at the blunt question. He considered his feelings, the way his heartbeat accelerated when she watched him, the desire to make her laugh. “I…yes. I’ve known her since she was born. Of course I love her.”

    “Not like that, you silly.” Blynca giggled. “I mean, do you love her. In a romantic sense.”

    Alton shifted his position. He frowned. “I suppose I do…”

    “Okay, so maybe you’re unsure.” Blynca tilted her head. “But there’s no way you’ll know for sure if you don’t evolve your relationship with her, is there?”

    “What are you trying to say?”

    “What I’m saying, Alton, is that you shouldn’t let what other people say dictate what you want to do. If you want her, go get her. Ask her opinion first instead of deciding for her. Do you even know if she feels the same about you?”

    “I…” Alton pursed his lips, trying to remember if there was any indication that she was interested in him. Aside from the teasing Liane and Ellaine did to pair them together (which he didn’t count anyway), he didn’t really know.

    “Look, Alton.” Blynca let out a breath. “I don’t know how well you can take my advice considering I’m in a taboo relationship myself, but you know what I say? To hell with what other people think. They don’t matter. They don’t get to tell you how you should and shouldn’t feel or who you shouldn’t court. So, let her know before it’s too late.” She glanced back at Senya’s direction once more. “Because a girl who looks like that could be swept away by a man who only cares about her beauty, and she might end up in more misery than if she was with you.”