Touch of Flame

Nazneen dragged Ravina away to a dance show and Ravina could feel her heart pounding hard. She could NOT dance. She knew that. Even when she was trained by a professional teacher at the castle, she always fumbled or stumped on the one she danced with. This wasn’t a matter of not having been taught. This was just not her thing.

“I can’t dance.” She told Nazneen once they came to a halt.

“I will teach you,” Nazneen smiled with charm.

Ravina felt like Nazneen wasn’t the type to listen easily, so she had to be more firm. “I don’t want to dance.”

Nazneen turned to her with a frown. “Why not? It is the ultimate way to attract a man. Look at them.”

She motioned toward the woman dancing inside the ring. They were all so good at moving their bodies to the music, and soon a few males joined in to dance with some of the females.

Ravina was about to protest again when a large hand grabbed her wrist. She turned her head back and found Malachi beside her. “She will dance with me,” he told Nazneen and then led her away from the woman and to the dance floor.

Wait, what? She panicked again. She thought he had come to save her and not throw her to the wolves.

“Malachi! What are you doing?”

“We will dance,” he simply said.

“I can’t dance,” she said, speaking between clenched teeth so no one else would hear her.

“Don’t worry. I am not good at it either.”

Was he serious? There was even more reason to worry then.

He halted and then swirled her around so she came standing right in front of him, almost colliding with his chest. “We will just do the easy steps.” He told her. “Swirling won’t be that difficult.”

He nodded toward a couple that had their arms through each linked and swirling. The other couple was dancing in a more advanced way; swirling, carrying, throwing, leaning down, having their bodies very close, and touching each other in a sensual way that still matched the rhythm of the music. It all looked so difficult to her.

“Are you ready?” Malachi asked.

“No.”

He chuckled. “Just have fun. You don’t have to do it well.”

If he only knew… Accepting a dance was often the quickest way she could get rid of a man. That was how bad she was. But sure, if it was only swirling, she could manage, although she could only do it for a while before she became dizzy.

Malachi put her arm through his and began to gently swirl, slowly picking up the pace when she felt comfortable. Ravina managed to be so fast that her hair blew back.

“Change arms,” he told her in the middle of the swirl.

She tried to quickly follow his command and imitate him when he let her go and turned, so they linked the other arm. Then they swirled again.

“See. It is not difficult.” He smiled.

They kept swirling, linking arms, and changing steps. Malachi put his arm around her waist from behind at a certain point and swirled her as well, showing her the different ways they danced. Ravina just followed his steps and the music, allowing her hair and skirt to flow with her. She felt light like a bird and soon began to understand the dance and the rhythm of the music, even if she was terrible on her feet.

Malachi drew her into his embrace at last, as the music ended. Ravina was a bit out of breath and smiling.

“Was it fun?”

“Yes,” she nodded, feeling the heat of his body against hers.

They stayed like that for a while, caught in each other’s gazes and then a new beat began to play. Malachi led her away from the dance floor, but they stopped to see why more people were gathering now.

Nazneen stepped onto the dance floor, walking to the middle while matching the beat of the music. Everyone was already in awe just looking at her.

“Let’s go,” Malachi said, showing disinterest.

“Let’s stay,” Ravina suggested. She was curious to see.

Across from them on the other side, she found Saul, Joel and Kenan. Nazneen wasn’t the only one stepping in to the dance, but Joel had his eyes on her.

Nazneen and the other females began to move to the drums and other instruments, dancing what seemed to be their traditional dance. They all had great body movements, but there was something alluring about the way Nazneen moved. It was as if she wasn’t trying at all. She floated over the floor, and her limbs moved with grace.

Their dance had a seductive vibe with hips and chest moving, but Nazneen did it with elegance, so it didn’t look obscene. She was like a work of art, and without trying too hard, the women dancing with her slowly became insecure and left one by one until she was dancing alone.

Nazneen didn’t care and seemed to enjoy herself, and once she was alone, she put on a show that put everyone in a trance.

The musicians seemed to want to challenge her, so they increased the rhythm of the beats, and Nazneen kept up with it. Her hands, from shoulders to fingertips, her legs, hips, chest, and even facial expressions were all synchronized and matched the music she was dancing to. There would be small gasps whenever she did a movement that seemed difficult yet executed it with grace.

The pace of the beat picked up again and again, and Nazneen danced to it. Ravina could feel the rush of it all–the swirling, swaying, tapping with feet and twisting and rolling body that happened faster and faster yet looked perfect, and then, with a dramatic move, the beat stopped and the music ended.

Ravina let out a deep breath as if she had been the one dancing, and then she clapped with everyone else. That was amazing.

Nazneen looked around at the crowd with a genuine smile. Ravina could tell this wasn’t a dance to show off. She really enjoyed dancing. It made her happy. That smile was different, and when the music started again, she pulled a woman with her into the circle to dance, showing them a few moves, and then they were all having fun.

From the corner of her eye, Ravina noticed something and turned her head slightly. On the other side, a little away from Malachi’s brothers, stood Ares. He was hard to miss because of his complexion which was now on display.

Ares wore a green silk garment around his waist, held in place with a thick golden belt. His arms and wrists were cuffed with golden bracelets, and he even wore a golden necklace with emerald stones that matched his eyes. His thick dark-brown hair was comped back nicely and had a golden shine to it just like his bare upper body.

He looked so different dressed like this, but the details of color and jewelry made him look good. Ravina could only guess that such details were picked up by a woman. Nazneen knew how to dress.

Ares didn’t care that people looked at him, some with questions in their eyes. He kept his gaze fixated on Nazneen who danced cheerfully with some women. At one point, she glanced his way and gave him a smile. That upset a whole lot of men who had been watching her with a smile for a while.

Ravina felt the tension as those men now had their focus on him. Something would happen tonight, and it would not be something good.

“He has no pistols. I hope he can fight.” Joel had suddenly joined their side. He was certainly looking forward to a fight. He had to be one of the disappointed ones after all.

Ravina looked back at Ares, and this time something hit her. His arm. Both his arms and shoulders had healthy skin. He had burned his whole arm and shoulder while saving her and those had been serious burns so there was no way they could have healed, let alone not even leaving scars behind.

Ravina had burned herself with iron when she was little. It was right above her elbow, and it wasn’t serious, but until today, she could see the faint scar. So how could his skin look like that now?

“I must say, he doesn’t smell like a typical human.” Joel added.

Typical human? What did that mean?