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“Dancing?” Alina blurted out.
Marie and Nadia giggled. “Of course there will be dancing at the winter fete,” Nadia said and smirked. “Who knows, perhaps Vasily might even ask you for a dance.”
Alina’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”
“Not at all,” Marie chimed in. “I think chances are high that the crown prince would want to dance with the sun summoner.”
“Not only Vasily,” Nadia added. “I bet half the guests will want to dance with you.”
“Saints,” Alina mumbled and stared at the porridge in front of her while everyone else in the dining hall continued to chat excitedly about the approaching winter fete. Demonstrating her powers was already frightening - she was still struggling with summoning and Baghra became more impatient with each day - but dancing in front of everyone and perhaps even with the crown prince himself was an entirely different problem. Because the thing was: Alina didn’t know how to dance. No one at the orphanage had, let alone at the army, ever bothered to teach them how to dance. There had been parties back in Poliznaya, but people had been drunk and danced carelessly, and Alina had preferred to spend these days anyway in some quiet corner with Mal - or with her sketchbook if her best friend had gotten into a fight again. The thought of Mal, who still hadn’t answered any of her letters, only darkened her mood even more.
Having lost her appetite, Alina pushed her bowl of porridge away.
***
Alina let out a frustrated sigh and lifted the needle of the gramophone.
Most Grisha, including her friends, had gone home for a few weeks while Alina stayed at the Little Palace. Meanwhile, she decided to use this time alone. She had found a book on dancing in the palace’s library and had moved the furniture to the side in one of the common rooms to practise the different dances - without much success thus far.
She threw another glance at the book. The illustrations made the steps look so easy, but when she tried them, all she did was stumble over her own feet. At least there was no one to witness her miserable attempt at dancing.
Alina rose to her feet and tried again. Arms outstretched, one step to back, one to the side and-
“Alina.”
She jumped and whirled around to see Aleksander standing in the doorframe. At once, heat rose to her cheeks and coloured them rosy. “Aleksander,” she breathed.
“Practising summoning?”
“No,” she said. “I’m practising-” she began and stared down at her feet, hoping he didn’t see her blush. “Dancing. For the winter fete.”
“Dancing,” he echoed, and she could hear him smile.
Alina lifted her head to see that Aleksander’s eyes were twinkling with amusement. He walked over to her and took a look at the book.
“I found this in the library,” Alina explained and hastily added, “It looks easier than it is.”
“Ah.” Aleksander raised an eyebrow. “It is indeed a bit difficult without a partner,” he remarked.
“Yes,” Alina admitted. “Well, no one bothered to tell me that there will be dancing at the winter fete, and my schedule doesn’t include dance lessons, so I kind of had to take care of that myself.”
Aleksander placed the needle on the record again and offered her his hand. Alina remained still, eyeing his outstretched hand. “Well, then you should practise with a partner, don’t you think?” he said.
She bit down on her lip to suppress a grin. “The general of the Second Army wants to teach me how to dance?”
“One of the downsides of being the general of the Second Army is the obligation to attend many balls and banquets,” Aleksander told her. “Which often includes dancing.”
“Sounds tiresome,” Alina noted.
“It is,” he replied. “Or perhaps I just never had the right company.”
Alina’s heart fluttered, and she forced herself to take a deep breath before taking his hand. His touch sent a sense of surety through her body as if a bond had opened between them, something other than his powers reaching for hers, something deeper. The feeling startled her.
The ghost of a smile touched Aleksander’s lips, and the twinkle in his eyes was replaced by something Alina did not dare to name. He reached for her other hand and placed it on his shoulder. “Do you trust me?”
Unable to utter a single word, Alina gave him a nod.
Slowly, Aleksander began to move them across the floor to the rhythm of the music, the music fading into the background with each step.
It didn’t take long until Alina stepped on his toes. “Sorry,” she muttered, her cheeks blushing again, and lowered her gaze to her feet.
“It’s alright,” Aleksander said at once. He briefly let go of her hand to tilt her chin up. “Keep your focus on me. You'll be fine.”
Alina swallowed and then nodded.
“One step back,” Aleksander instructed and quickly added, “with your right foot.”
Alina did as he said.
“And now step your left foot back and to the left.”
Again, Alina followed his instructions, though she would have stumbled again if he hadn’t been holding her.
“Place your right foot right beside your left foot,” Aleksander went on patiently.
As Aleksander told her, Alina took a step with her right foot, placing it next to her left foot.
“And now you step to the front with the left foot. It’s almost the same thing but forwards.”
Alina groaned, making Aleksander let out a short laugh, and they continued to go slowly through the steps.
“That’s it,” Aleksander said after they went through every step. “Now we just repeat this.”
Alina let out another groan.
He gave her a warm smile. “It’ll get easier, trust me.”
Aleksander continued to guide them across the floor, one step at a time. Every now and then, Alina still threw a quick glance down at her feet until her gaze remained fixed on Aleksander as he led her through the dance.
“See,” he said with a smile. “Easier together.”
A laugh escaped Alina’s lips. “It is indeed easier,” she noted.
The two swayed together to the music, too caught up in the other one’s gaze and presence to realise that they were moving closer to each other. They lowered their arms, and Alina leaned her head against Aleksander’s shoulder. She no longer stumbled over her own feet - or his - and her fears and struggles faded away for the moment.
Caught in their dance, they almost didn’t notice that the music had stopped or that the sun was already vanishing on the horizon.
Alina lifted her head. Her eyes met Aleksander’s, and for a moment, they both held their breath. Her heart began to race as he lowered his gaze to her lips. He cupped her cheek with one hand and leaned close, and Alina’s eyes fluttered shut.
Their lips were almost touching when Alina’s belly grumbled, and they both blinked as if waking up from a perfect dream.
Alina let out a short laugh. “I think I should go and eat something,” she said. Aleksander dropped his hand, and she stepped away from him, her heart still pounding in her chest. “Thank you for the lesson,” she added with an awkward curtsey.
“Where are you having dinner?” Aleksander asked.
“In my suite,” she told him.
“Alone?”
“Well, everyone has gone home until the fete,” she replied, the words tinged with sadness.
“I’m still here,” he countered.
Alina blinked. “Yes, but you are,” she began and desperately searched for the right words. “You.”
Aleksander arched an eyebrow. “Right.”
Again, Alina’s cheeks blushed, and she quickly pivoted on her feet. “Well, again, thank you for the lesson, Aleksander,” Alina said and walked briskly to the door but then paused and turned to face him. She tilted her head to one side. “Wait, did you just ask me to dine with you?”
“Perhaps.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “ Would you like to dine with me?”
Alina returned the smile. “Perhaps.”
*
The two made their way to his chambers, and Aleksander called for dinner for two. They took a seat in the sofas by the fireplace where the flames were already crackling and filled the room with pleasant warmth. A servant knocked at the door and carried in a tray with two plates, which he placed on the table between them, before he bowed and left again.
Alina glanced at the food in front of her and wanted to let out a sigh of relief when she saw the roast beef and the steamed vegetables. “No herring,” she remarked.
Aleksander chuckled. “I put you through enough torture with all the dancing,” he said. “So I thought I might spare you the fish.”
Alina’s heart leaped. She hadn’t expected that Aleksander knew about her distaste for the pickled fish.
“Though I don’t understand what you have against herring,” he went on as he started to slice his meat. “It’s delicious.”
“It’s disgusting,” Alina said, scrunching her nose. She smiled. “Thank you for sparing me.”
Aleksander chuckled again. “My pleasure.”
They ate in silence and when they were done, Aleksander called for dessert. The servant from earlier returned and placed a plate with different kinds of cake in front of them.
Alina leaned back and grinned as Aleksander almost immediately reached for a piece of chocolate cake and took a big bite of it.
“What?”
“I don’t know,” she said as she reached for a slice of honey cake and smirked. “I didn’t think the Black General would have a sweet tooth.”
The two enjoyed the cake and talked as night fell outside and the moon rose over the horizon. Alina told him about how her training was going and was surprised when she confessed that she was still struggling with summoning. A part of her worried that he would be disappointed or perhaps even angry, but he only gave her a warm smile and reassured her that it’s going to get better.
“I’m just worried about the winter fete,” Alina admitted, her shoulders slumping. “Everyone is expecting a spectacle and all I can offer them is lighting the hallway.”
Aleksander stood and walked over to the samovar in the corner of the room, filling two cups of tea. He handed her one of the cups, yet instead of sitting back down in his chair, he sat down on the sofa beside her, making her heart flutter.
Alina thanked him and closed her hands around her warm cup of tea.
“Don’t worry,” Aleksander said and turned to look at her. “About your summoning and the winter fete. I’ll be there the whole time. And you will master your powers soon enough, I’m sure of that.”
Alina sighed. “Thank you. You are much more encouraging than Baghra, you know?”
He let out a short laugh. “Baghra can be tough, I know that all too well.”
Alina’s eyes widened. “You were her student too, weren’t you?”
“I was,” Aleksander replied. “And her worst one probably.”
“I don’t believe that,” Alina exclaimed.
“Oh I was,” he argued. “I was a slow learner. But I learned. So if I can make it, you can definitely make it too.” His eyes still locked with hers, he reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze.
Alina’s eyes darted to their entwined hands, and he was about to pull his hand away when she gave it a squeeze in return.
Aleksander stared at their hands, still holding on to each other, with that same look in his eyes as in that sleepless night when she had come to him and told him that he wasn’t alone. He tore his gaze away and cleared his throat. “Was that a bit encouraging?”
“A bit,” Alina responded with a smile. She stifled a yawn. “I should probably go,” she said, yet didn’t move. It was late already, and Alina could barely keep her eyes open, but seated between soft cushions, the fire crackling in the fireplace, and her stomach full - the taste of sugar still on her tongue - she realised that a kind of peacefulness had settled into her heart that she hadn’t experienced in a while, if she had ever experienced it at all; it was a feeling she hadn’t even experienced on hot summer days that she had spent with Mal on their meadow.
As Alina gazed at Aleksander, she caught herself thinking that it was more than just the warmth of the fire and the sugar that made her feel that way, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave all of this to return to her dark and cold and lonely room.
She let out another stifled yawn and, without thinking much about it, rested her head against Aleksander’s shoulder. He tensed, and Alina feared that she had overcrossed a line, but then the tension left his body again, and he put his arm around her.
Alina smiled as she listened to his heartbeat and almost thought it was beating in the same rhythm as hers. Her eyes fell shut, and she threatened to drift off to sleep when Aleksander shifted, forcing her to sit up.
“Perhaps you should wait to fall asleep until you're in bed,” he said, his voice soft.
She opened her mouth to protest but then closed it again as she realised how close he still was. Her eyes met his, and he hesitantly lifted one hand and caressed her cheek. As earlier, Aleksander’s eyes darted to her lips. Taking a deep breath, he blinked and pulled his hand away again.
Before she had the chance to think through what she was about to do, Alina took his face into her hands and pressed her lips to his.
His eyes widened before he closed them and returned the kiss. That same sensation that she had felt earlier when he had touched her rushed through her as their lips met, only stronger. It was a feeling she could not quite describe yet she knew she could drown in it. That realisation overwhelmed her, and Alina pulled away, her heart pounding in her chest.
Aleksander’s lips curved into a small smile. “Not many people surprise me, Miss Starkov,” he said.
Alina grinned and was about to lean in for another kiss when she yawned again. The two chuckled. “Perhaps I should go to sleep,” she muttered and rested her head against his chest.
Alina almost expected him to send her away, but he didn’t. Instead, Aleksander put his arm around her again, holding her close. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and reached for a blanket and covered her with it.
The winter wind blew outside through the cold night air, but the two of them were safe and warm in each other’s arms. Listening to his heartbeat with her own heart filled with peacefulness, sleep took Alina at last, her lips still turned up into a small smile.