If Flora had offered to teach him to dance under better circumstances it would have been an enjoyable evening. But if wishes were fishes there'd be no room in the sea for Merfolk, as the saying went. Of all those present she was most deserving of an explanation from him and he appreciated that it did not involve icy disdain or righteous rage. He would have been honest with her regardless, but it made their dance as comfortable as it could be under he circumstances.
"Yes," he agreed, the word a sigh as his collar was adjusted. "That is clear now." To Dahlia as well as to the Tidebreaker. And then a question followed that had nothing to do with the Reaper but which gave the King pause, his feet tangling briefly even at their slow pace. He tilted his head down to study the top of Flora's head, focusing on one cluster of artful curls as the silence stretched and he remembered the flush in the pale Ancient's cheeks as she had spoken of his former friend before he answered in his slow, measured tones. "Mmh. She is... interested... in someone else."
"Yes," he agreed, the word a sigh as his collar was adjusted. "That is clear now." To Dahlia as well as to the Tidebreaker. And then a question followed that had nothing to do with the Reaper but which gave the King pause, his feet tangling briefly even at their slow pace. He tilted his head down to study the top of Flora's head, focusing on one cluster of artful curls as the silence stretched and he remembered the flush in the pale Ancient's cheeks as she had spoken of his former friend before he answered in his slow, measured tones. "Mmh. She is... interested... in someone else."
