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Alone Together

"No," I answered. Not because I didn't want to dance with him or because I couldn't dance. But, because I really do want to be as close to Jem as I can right now. I wanted to inhale his wintry scent; I wanted to talk to him all night; I wanted to find out what it would be like to kiss him. I said no because of all of those things. Any closer and I knew that I would probably ruin myself.

"Too bad. A summer and winter have to dance to prove the peace between our kingdoms. So dance." At Silas' last words, he shoved Jem and I together. We were guided by his cold hands towards the dancing couples or dancing friends and we stood beside each other with a foot between our bodies. Neither of us made a move to swoop up the other into a dance.

Jem looked behind him, saw something, and scooped me up into dancing position so quickly that I hadn't remembered him stepping closer to me. One second I was staring at the floor and the next I was pressed close to Jem. Probably closer than even protocol called for. I carefully placed my gloved hand on the soft white fabric of his evening dress and we began to dance along to the music. No matter how many times I told myself to pay attention to the dance, I still couldn't help but breathe in his cool, crisp winter scent. His eyes were trained on something far away, but when I cleared my throat they snapped back to me.

"Je-- er, Prince Jem? Do you promise that you were telling me the truth?" My voice was quiet so any couples near us couldn't overhear our conversation and tune in onto something very secretive.

"Promise what?" His voice was level, but the end of his words rose the slightest bit in octaves from natural curiosity. His eyes were trained on mine, causing me to look away from the unusual eye contact.

"Do you promise that your parents had nothing to do with the disappearance of my mother?"

He froze the slightest bit as we danced and nearly ran into two tall faeries who seemed to be intimate with their dance. They sent us a hot glare and I gripped Jem's hand from fear. I saw the corner of his lip flash upward but then his face was straight once again. His eyes narrowed on my right wrist and I tried to pull my hand away from him but his grip wouldn't allow the motion. "What happened to your wrist? Who did that to you?" I felt his muscles in his shoulder tense up and I blushed.

"I did it to myself." At his slightly shocked look, I quickly added on. "I did it while I was in the middle of a dream. Well, I believe that I did it. The person in my dream grabbed my arms and when I woke up I was bleeding. Nothing too... great. They were just small scratches. But, do you promise?" I looked up to him, trying to hide the fire of hope that burned in the stars of my eyes.

"I'm afraid, Princess, that to talk about something so... scandalous, here in the open would be like inviting unwanted listeners into our conversation. We should save this for somewhere more private. After the dance, we can speak. Just have Marda direct you to the restrooms. I'll find you there." Someone came closer than anyone else had during the dance and we both ceased conversation.

"Thank you for the dance, Prince Jem." I bowed my head and Jem bowed to me once again. I felt as if I was supposed to curtsy or something of the like, but he didn't say anything so we went separate ways.

"Nessa," Luca hurried to me as soon as I came out of the crowd of dancers. "Hey, I was wondering if you would like to d--"

"Actually, I think I drank a little too much. Where are the restrooms?" I cut him off, not even taking time to dally. I needed to talk to Jem... or did I just want to talk to him? To see him? To be near him? At the moment, it didn't quite matter. My brain was fuzzy, my fingers tingled, and my eyes were wide with curiosity. It was as if the electricity inside of me was ready to burst out at any given moment.

"Oh." Luca's eyes darkened. "Just follow me."

After Luca led me through the crowd and into a darkened hall, I thanked him and hurried to the door he had directed me to. When nearing the door, a shadow reached out and an arm snaked around my waist. Before I could utter out any form of a scream, a hand slid over my lips and and a door closed around us, we were locked in a closet. "Calm down, Princess, it's just me." Jem chuckled and my entire body relaxed into him.