It had been exactly four days since our library mishap. I was starting to get bored with the same old routine of waking up, vomiting, talking to Henneh, working, then training at night with Ashe.

I just wanted today to be over. Wednesdays were always the most uneventful days.

"Princess, I need to have a word with you," I heard Nylas say from outside my tent.

I huffed a sigh and left my tent. Nylas stood there, cane in tow, with a serious look on his face. "Your father is still searching for you."

"Is he? I hadn't noticed," I said dryly.

Nylas's face didn't change. "There's a birthday ball taking place on Friday for Princess Diana. Your father plans to continue through with it."

Diana... Oh, Diana. My heart sank a bit, but I straightened my shoulders. "So what?"

"So we're planning to break into Malakette Palace that day. After the catacombs were breached by you and Rysdan, extra guards have been assigned throughout them."

"I don't see why that matters. You never used those catacombs, anyway."

"We used those catacombs occasionally to take food from the Garden of Malakette and sneak them around Thaeleck. Without those catacombs, we won't be able to transport food."

"Now what do we do?" I asked.

Nylas pursed his lips. "Irene invited me to the ball. I'm going to sneak everyone's name onto the list. Obviously I won't use your real name, but we need everyone there to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"And what does 'everything' mean? Do you have a plan?" I crossed my arms, waiting. Nylas stayed quiet for a while. Eventually, I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. Why would you think—?"

"He's quiet," a voice behind me boomed, "because he's staring at me."

I jumped and spun around. Ashe towered over, a smug grin on his face. "Hello there," he said as he walked past me.

Nylas greeted him, and I just stared at them. Why, Saints? As if I hadn't gotten enough of Ashe's annoying tactics.

"Look, we have a plan," Ashe resumed. "Nylas, you and I are staying in the ballroom and distracting everyone. Rysdan, Henneh, and Avaloryn will come in through the garden and into the dining hall. From there, they'll get rid of any guards and will take care of our catacomb issue."

"You mean the guards?" I said.

"The guards are our issues," Ashe mumbled as a response. He handed me a small handkerchief. "And you and I will be coming into the ballroom together. You as Lydia Halls and I as Byron Halls. Wife and husband. That way, people don't suspect anything when we're together the entire night."

I was about to protest, but then I paused. As much as I hated to admit it, Ashe was right. I wasn't cut out to fight—especially after my burns on my hand. Nylas had a reason to be in the ballroom: Irene.

"Saints," I muttered. "Fine." I glanced at the handkerchief and saw the initials L.H and B.H written in cursive. I shoved it into my pockets and glared at Ashe. "Do you know how to dance?"

Nylas cleared his throat. "Diana will be busy the entire night. Irene and Whila will most likely be attending to everyone's needs. Rumor is that Diana has lashed out against her father when she heard that he planned to continue the ball."

"'Lashed out'? What do you mean?" I looked from Ashe to Nylas.

"She threatened him rather publicly. She said she'd run away and look for you herself. Obviously she was placed in lockaway at the Westward tower, but we don't know if she'll plan anything."

She was looking for me. She did care. I thought they had just accepted the fact that I wasn't coming back and decided to host a ball.

"This means she'll have guards flanking her at all times," Ashe added.

"She always has guards flanking her," I said.

"She'll have about twenty guards," Nylas said in a monotone structure.

"Twenty guards to protect her?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"Twenty guards to keep her in line." Ashe crossed his arms, his grin wider. "Impressive how she managed to get that high."

"Her father tried to give her five, but..." Nylas paused and glanced at me. "She kind of... threw them."

My eyes nearly darted out of my head. "What?"

"She threw one on a lord. Fortunately for the guard, he remained intact. The lord, however... Well, he ended up falling onto his horse and his horse stomped on his hands. Every bone in there is now shattered. Poor man."

Well, at least the guard was intact.

Another question dawned on me. "What about the ball? How would we blend in?" I questioned.

"I'll give you your gown on Friday. Avaloryn will help you prepare. I'm sure you know how to dance." Nylas lifted a brow. "You do know how to dance, right?"

"Of course." I looked at Ashe. "I asked you earlier if you knew how to dance. Do you?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his spot. After eight seconds of silence, he said, "Don't worry about me."

"I'm not worried about you. If you don't know how to dance, that's going to make me look suspicious."

I grinned, but Ashe didn't look at me at all. He looked toward his feet, then knotted his fingers around his bracelet. "You're right, of course. We wouldn't want anyone to find you suspicious."

"So I get to train you on dancing?"

Ashe mumbled something understand his breath.

"What was that?" I leaned forward.

Ashe jerked his head up and said, "Fine. But don't be difficult. Just teach me and shut up."

"Now that you know, I'm sure you've got work to do." Nylas patted Ashe on his back and nodded toward me. "Good luck."

"How reassuring," Ashe whispered.

Nylas walked off. I could've sworn I heard him humming, or maybe I heard him say, "Ashey boy is dancing". Either way, I was startled by that reaction from him.

"Let's get this over with." Ashe grabbed my hand and put it on his shoulder. With his other hand, he positioned it outwards from our bodies. "Like this, correct?"

"Yes," I said, a slight smile forming on my face.

"Quit smiling like that," Ashe quipped.

I didn't stop smiling.

Ashe cleared his throat and straighten his posture. "So... what dance do these parties do?"

"Thaeleckean slow dancing is one."

Ashe shut his eyes. "Of course."

I held onto his hand tighter. "Come on. Just step forward with your left leg first, then step forward with your right. The concept is to not step on the other person's shoes."

He nodded and did as I told him. As he stepped forward with his left foot, I stepped back with my right foot.

"See?" I began to instruct him on the other steps. Side stepping, circling, even different steps in different times. He wasn't nearly as bad as I thought he'd be. In fact, he was as good as Irene.

Ashe smiled slightly as he stepped back and I stepped forward. "I'm dancing," he said, almost surprised.

"You are." I held onto his hands tighter and circled with him. "It's strange without music. Usually, Whila would play a tune on her violin."

"It won't be strange at the ball," Ashe said, his grip on my upper back adjusting. "But I think we're doing something wrong."

"What?" I paused dancing and glanced at him.

He lifted a brow. "This isn't the correct position."

"This is how my instructor told me to dance."

The world was silent. Soft winds blew, and I could hear the faint sounds of the trees rustling in the distance. His eyes analyzed mine. Then, I felt Ashe's hand trail up to my wrist, but down again to my hand.

"May I show you the correct position of a married couple?"

Something burned in my stomach. It felt like my heart had just been ripped out of my toenails. Strangely, it didn't feel bad. It was a good feeling.

I slowly nodded as I glanced at Ashe's hand. It trailed up my hand slightly, then his fingers extended and twinned with mine. Rough, calloused fingers. I had never dealt with such hands.

But it wasn't that hand that caught my attention the most. The hand that rested on my upper back—my upper exposed back—pathed its way down to the small of my back. I could feel the soft scraping of his callouses on my back. My stomach leapt when he tightened his grip on my lower back, and I could've sworn I needed to vomit.

"There is also one other dance that a married couple does," Ashe whispered.

I looked into his eyes once again. The feeling of sickness washed away, and I could've sworn a star flickered in those eyes.

"I'll show you that dance at the ball." Ashe moved, already beginning a dance. His hands laced themselves on my skin effortlessly. His movements were sharp and quick, not at all relaxed the way I was.

I stopped us, struggling to find words, but I managed. "You need to loosen your muscles. You're tense. It makes you look and move stiffly."

Ashe stared down at me. "Do I?"

I nodded. Carefully, I slid the hand that was on his shoulder toward his neck. I made sure my nails scrapped softly on his skin—enough to make him tenser, but not hurt him. I stopped at the base of his neck. "Relax."

He blinked a few times.

I pressed my hand flat against the base of his neck. "You can't be this tense at the ball."

"I know."

I sighed and removed my hands away. "Good dancing. We'll work on your form tomorrow."

"But—"

"Good night." I slid into my tent and fell onto my bedroll. My hands burned. I quickly moved toward the basin of water and saw my reflection: My cheeks were scarlet and my hair was tousled in a ball above my head. I stared at the basin, then decided to use the cup and splash my face with water to remove that stain from my face.

Ashe peeked his head through the crack of the tent. "Tomorrow I have a trip down to the ports. We got news that there are guards there looking for you."

"I'm coming," I said.

"No, you're not." Ashe left the tent without another word.

See, I was never good at directions. Maybe I should learn.

And that stupid Amulet.... I needed to find a way back into that library alone.