Chapter 93: Dance With
Sadiki stood at the edge of the crowd, and watched Prince Eirik and Kaelix dance once more.
The music filled the air, a lively tune that matched the mood of the celebration, but Sadiki’s mind was elsewhere.
His eyes tracked the graceful movents of the royal couple as they spun around in sync, the crowd erupting in cheers and laughter.
Eirik’s white hair shimred in the setting sun, his laughter carrying through the air like a sweet lody that seed to haunt Sadiki’s heart.
It was a beautiful scene, and yet it filled Sadiki with a conflicting sense of lancholy and acceptance.
He had known Eirik longer than most here.
He had been the one by his side when the world was smaller, quieter. Back then, their monts had been filled with shared whispers and unspoken feelings. But those days were behind them now.
Sadiki had noticed the recent change between Kaelix and Eirik.
There was a subtle shift in their interactions, a closeness that was beginning to take shape. It wasn’t forced; it wasn’t sothing that could be ignored.
The way Eirik looked at Kaelix now, with sothing more than re obligation or politeness, stirred a bitter pang inside Sadiki.
He knew that Kaelix was making a sincere effort, and as much as it stung, Sadiki couldn’t begrudge them their happiness. Eirik deserved it.
He sighed, tearing his eyes away from the couple. He didn’t want to be that person, soone who couldn’t let go, who couldn’t move on. He’d tried to be happy for them, but it was harder than he thought.
"Still pining over your lost love, Sadiki?" a voice teased from behind.
Sadiki groaned, instantly recognizing the voice. "Drystan," he muttered under his breath. Of course, it was him.
Drystan, with his annoyingly perfect smile and perpetual air of smugness, sidled up next to SSadiki
From the very day Sadiki had stepped foot in Zephyros, Drystan had made it his personal mission to get under his skin.
And it had only gotten worse since Sadiki and Eirik had ended things. Everywhere he turned, Drystan was there, poking and prodding, always with that infuriatingly playful glint in his eyes.
Sadiki shot him a sideways glare. "What do you want?"
Drystan grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "Just checking in on you. Thought you might need so company while you stare longingly at your ex."
"I wasn’t staring," Sadiki said defensively, though he imdiately regretted how defensive it sounded.
"Sure," Drystan replied, dragging out the word with a knowing smirk. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Eirik and Kaelix dance with idle amusent.
"Though, you have to admit, Kaelix doesn’t look half bad as a match for Eirik. You’re not secretly fuming with jealousy, are you?"
Sadiki groaned again, this ti more in frustration than anything else. "Piss off, Drystan."
There was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, though, despite his best efforts to remain annoyed.
He didn’t know when it had happened exactly, but Drystan had beco sothing of a constant in his llife
At first, it was irritating, Drystan always finding a way to poke at him when he was at his lowest, but over ti, it had started to pull Sadiki’s attention away from his heartbreak.
In an odd way, Drystan’s teasing had beco a comfort, sothing to distract him from the pain he wasn’t quite ready to let go of.
"You look like you could use a distraction," Drystan said, still smirking as he glanced at Sadiki. "Why don’t you co dance with ?"
Sadiki stared at him like he’d grown two heads. "Why would I dance with you?"
"Because I asked you to," Drystan replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Sadiki opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say anything, Drystan grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the crowd, weaving them through the mass of people who were already lost in the music and revelry. "Wait, what... Drystan, I didn’t..."
"Too late!" Drystan interrupted, flashing a grin over his shoulder as they reached the center of the crowd.
The dance was awkward at first. Sadiki stiffened, his mind racing with thoughts of how absurd this was, how he didn’t want to do this, how this wasn’t what he’d signed up ffor
But Drystan, ever persistent, didn’t let go, leading him into the rhythm of the music with a playful ease that was hard to resist.
"Just relax," Drystan said, spinning Sadiki lightly. "It’s just a dance."
"It’s weird," Sadiki muttered, though he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep the irritation in his voice.
"Only if you make it weird," Drystan quipped, pulling Sadiki closer as the tempo of the music changed.
Sadiki, despite himself, started to relax.
The stiffness in his posture eased, and slowly, he found himself moving more freely with the rhythm.
He wasn’t sure if it was the music or the contagious energy of the crowd, but the tension he had been carrying seed to lt away. He didn’t even realize he was smiling until he caught Drystan looking at him with a soft expression.
"What?" Sadiki asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Drystan shook his head, his eyes twinkling with amusent. "Nothing. You just... you look good when you smile. You should do it more often."
Sadiki rolled his eyes, but there was no heat behind it. He couldn’t help but feel a little flattered, though he wasn’t sure why. "Don’t get used to it."
"Too late," Drystan said, spinning him again, and this ti, Sadiki laughed, really laughed.
The sound of his own laughter startled him. He hadn’t laughed like this in a long ti, not since things had started to fall apart for him. It felt good, and in that mont, he realized just how much he’d missed feeling... free.
Drystan watched him with a satisfied smile, clearly pleased with himself.
But there was sothing else in his eyes, sothing more than the usual tteasing
For a brief second, Sadiki thought he saw sothing deeper, sothing softer, but before he could dwell on it, Drystan spun him around again, and they were both laughing as they danced.
Drystan’s grip on Sadiki’s waist tightened slightly as they moved in sync with the music. There was an undeniable energy between them, sothing that hadn’t been there before, or maybe it had been, and Sadiki had just been too caught up in his own feelings to notice. Whatever it was, it felt... nice.
When the song finally ended, Sadiki was breathless, his chest heaving from both the dancing and the unexpected wave of emotions that had co with it. Drystan still had his hand on Sadiki’s waist, and for a mont, neither of them moved.
"You’re not half bad," Sadiki said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Drystan smirked. "Told you."
As they stood there, surrounded by the crowd, the music still playing in the background, Sadiki felt a strange sense of peace settle over him. He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t expected any of this. But maybe that was okay. Maybe, for once, it was okay to not have all the answers.
Drystan’s eyes lingered on him, and for the first ti, Sadiki didn’t feel the urge to look away.
There was sothing in the way Drystan was looking at him that made his heart beat a little faster, sothing that made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was more to this than he had realized.
"Well," Drystan said, breaking the silence with a grin, "if you’re done pining over your ex, maybe you could spend a little more ti with ."
Sadiki rolled his eyes again, but this ti, he was smiling. "We’ll see."
As they walked off the dance floor together, Sadiki couldn’t help but feel lighter, more at ease than he had in a long ti.
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