The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I started to take his hand, but uncertainty filled me. Was
it appropriate for me to do so?
Casteel dipped his cheek to mine. “You can dance with
him.” His arm loosened around my waist. “You can do
whatever you want.”
Do whatever you want.
Four words I hadn’t heard for most of my life. “I…I don’t
really know how to dance.”
“No one does,” Delano said, grinning. “Until they do.”
He wiggled his fingers. “What do you say, Penellaphe?”
Excitement bubbled up in me as my gaze darted over
his shoulder to the figures moving around the bonfire. Do
whatever you want. The breath that left me was heady.
Twisting, I curled my fingers around Casteel’s chin and
pulled his mouth to mine. I kissed him quickly. “I love you,
Cas.”
His arm tightened briefly around me. “Have fun.”
Turning back to Delano, I placed my hand in his.
“Poppy,” I told him. “Call me Poppy.”
Smiling, Delano pulled me to my feet. “Then let’s dance,
Poppy.”
Stomach skipping, I followed him toward the rippling
flames. Delano turned to me as the warmth of the fire
pressed against my skin.
“I really don’t know how to dance,” I told him
apologetically.
“Look around us.” Keeping his fingers wrapped around
mine, he picked up my hand and placed it on his hip before
resting his on my waist. “Do they look like they know how to
dance? Or do they look like they’re having fun?”
Glancing around, I saw nothing like what I saw when I’d
snuck through the back halls to spy on the balls held in the
Great Hall of Castle Teerman. There were no rigid
movements, nor was everyone paired with someone. A girl
with long, blonde hair danced alone, her arms stretched
above her head as her hips moved with the tempo. A brown-