CHAPTER 4: A DANCE WITH THE ENEMY

But when the prince and princess looked away from each other, he slipped a folded piece of parchment into the hand of a passing guard, the message contained only one sentence.

"The wedding must take place before the first snowfall—or both heirs will die"

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That night, the royal court held a masked ball, Seraphina had intended to spend the evening avoiding Kael, she had also intended to enjoy herself, unfortunately, those two objectives proved incompatible, every time she turned, he seemed to be somewhere nearby, speaking to a noblewoman, laughing with his military officers, standing beneath a chandelier, looking infuriatingly handsome in his black formal coat, and worst of all, looking completely unconcerned by her presence, Seraphina hated that she noticed, she hated even more that other women noticed him.

A beautiful countess approached Kael and placed a hand on his arm, he smiled at something she said, Seraphina immediately looked away, she did not care, she had no reason to care, in fact, she was pleased that someone else had volunteered to endure his company.

"You're staring."

Seraphina nearly dropped her glass, her cousin, Princess Elowen, stood beside her with a wicked grin.

"I am observing."

"Of course."

"There's a difference."

"Naturally."

Seraphina took a sip of champagne, Elowen followed her gaze toward Kael.

"He's handsome."

"He's tolerable at a distance."

"And strong."

"Like an overgrown ox."

"Apparently intelligent."

"When he isn't speaking."

Elowen laughed.

"You know, most women would be delighted to marry him."

"Then most women are welcome to volunteer."

"He's been looking at you all evening."

Seraphina stiffened.

"Impossible."

"Would you like me to count?"

"No."

"One."

"Elowen."

"Two."

"Stop."

"Three."

Seraphina turned toward her cousin.

"I will have you reassigned to the northern monastery."

Elowen grinned.

"Four."

A shadow fell across them.

"Princess Seraphina."

Kael stood before her, one hand extended.

"May I have this dance?"

Seraphina looked at his hand, then at his face.

"Why?"

He blinked.

"Because this is a ball."

"An observation worthy of a royal scholar."

"Because we are engaged."

"An unfortunate political arrangement."

"And because," he added, lowering his voice, "half the court is watching us to see whether we can remain in the same room without attempting murder."

Elowen covered her mouth, Seraphina placed her glass on a nearby table.

"Very well."

She took his hand.

"But if you step on my foot, I will break yours."

Kael smiled.

"Then I shall endeavor to survive."

He led her onto the dance floor, the musicians began a slow waltz, Kael placed one hand at her waist while holding her other hand, Seraphina stiffened.

"Your hand is too low."

He immediately moved it slightly higher.

"Better?"

"Marginally."

"You are aware that dancing requires physical contact?"

"I am aware that you enjoy irritating me."

"Immensely."

They moved across the floor, to the watching court, they looked like the perfect royal couple, the prince was tall, handsome, and commanding, the princess was graceful, elegant, and radiant, only the two of them knew that their conversation resembled a declaration of war.

"You look beautiful tonight," Kael said suddenly.

Seraphina slightly missed a step, he noticed, his mouth curved into a smile

"Careful, Princess."

She recovered immediately.

"I was distracted by the extraordinary difficulty of dancing with someone who believes rhythm is a personal insult."

He laughed softly.

"I was complimenting you."

"And I was correcting you."

"Must you turn everything into a competition?"

"Must you turn everything into an opportunity to admire yourself?"

Kael looked at her for a long moment, then, unexpectedly, his expression softened.

"No."

Seraphina frowned.

"No?"

"No, I don't."

She searched his face for mockery, there was none, for a few seconds, they danced in silence, then Kael spoke again.

"You really believe everything has to be perfect, don't you?"

Seraphina's smile faded.

"Someone has to care about the details."

"Why?"

"Because details matter."

"Not everything can be controlled."

"Perhaps not. But that doesn't mean we should stop trying."

He studied her.

"Who taught you that?"

She looked away, for the first time that evening, her voice lost its sharpness.

"My father."

Kael said nothing, Seraphina continued reluctantly.

"When I was twelve, I accompanied him on a diplomatic journey. We arrived at a village after a terrible winter. The people had almost nothing. Their houses were damaged, their crops had failed, and their children were hungry."

Her fingers tightened slightly around his.

"My father promised them help. He returned to the palace and spent months negotiating the resources they needed. He told me that being born a princess meant nothing if I could not use my position to make people's lives better."

She swallowed.

"So yes, I care about the details. Because when a ruler overlooks them, ordinary people suffer."

Kael's expression changed, he had expected vanity, arrogance, he had not expected this.

"I didn't know," he said quietly.

Seraphina looked at him.

"Of course you didn't. You never asked."

The words landed between them, Kael had no immediate answer, the music continued, after a moment, he said,

 "My mother died when I was fourteen."

Seraphina's expression softened.

"She believed a prince should be strong enough to protect everyone. When she became ill, I spent months training with the royal physicians, trying to find a way to save her."

His jaw tightened.

"I couldn't."

Seraphina said nothing.

"After she died, my father told me that a king cannot afford to be weak. So I decided I would never be weak again."

He looked down at her.

"Perhaps we both learned the wrong lesson from the people we loved."

For a moment, Seraphina forgot to hate him, then the music ended, Kael released her hand, the familiar arrogance returned to his face, as though he regretted revealing too much.

"Don't look so pleased, Princess. One decent conversation doesn't mean I like you."

Seraphina lifted her chin.

"How fortunate. I would hate to develop poor taste."

He laughed, she walked away, but this time, when she looked back, she found him watching her, and he did not look away.