Chapter 129: Let’s Dance

The drums were alive very much alive in the square where they were. They were low and insistent, their rhythm pulsing through the air like a heartbeat. Lanterns swung lazily in the breeze, scattering golden light over the square, where laughter and motion blurred together into something that felt almost sacred. Couples twirled in the snow-dusted street, clothes fanning like petals, boots crunching softly in time with the beat. Children darted between the dancers, spinning clumsily and shrieking with joy as the crowd clapped along.

Sophia’s eyes shimmered with delight. Her pulse hummed with the music’s rhythm, and before Orion could even process what she was about to do, she grinned up at him and said, "Let’s dance."

Orion blinked at her like she’d just spoken a foreign language. "Let’s what?"

"Dance." She gestured at the whirling crowd around them, her hands lifting as if to pull him into the motion. "Come on, Orion. Everyone’s dancing. You can’t tell me you don’t feel that rhythm."

He followed her gaze reluctantly. The crowd was moving in circles, some twirling with practiced grace, others simply hopping to the beat in messy, infectious joy. They had just been standing, about to watch the shadow play and now she wants him to dance?

Orion gave her a look, "Sophia," he said slowly, "I don’t dance."

She turned fully to face him, one brow arched. "You don’t dance?"

He crossed his arms over his broad chest, the corner of his mouth twitching with restrained amusement. "No. I fight, I lead, I hunt. I..."

"...annoy people?" She supplied for him.

"Maybe that too but I don’t dance, Sophia." He told her.

Sophia tilted her head, "You sound like someone who desperately needs to."

"I sound like someone who doesn’t want to make a fool of himself in public and someone who desperately doesn’t need to dance." He countered, deadpan.

Sophia laughed. "You think everyone here cares if you make a fool of yourself? Look at them!" She pointed toward a man trying, and failing to keep up with a group of young women whose movements were too fast for him. "That man looks like he’s fighting invisible bees."

Orion’s mouth twitched again, but he held firm. "Okay so maybe I dance a bit better than that man but that doesn’t mean I dance or will dance."

"You need to release all that hurt you’re carrying," she said, her tone gentler now. "Dancing helps. It’s like breathing for the soul."

Orion gave her a flat stare. "It’s basically just people twirling in circles."

"And breathing for the soul," she repeated firmly. "But that’s exactly my point. There’s nothing wrong with you twirling in circles. It isn’t even that hard."

He exhaled through his nose, clearly unimpressed. "No."

Sophia grinned. "You can do it."

He made an exaggerated X with his hands in front of him. "Absolutely not. Not happening."

She folded her arms, mirroring him. "You’re impossible."

"Correct." He motioned for her to follow as he turned away. "Come on, let’s go look at another stall before you do something..."

He didn’t get to finish.

A woman from the crowd, a vibrant older lady with streaks of silver in her hair and bangles clinking on her wrists, caught Sophia’s hand as she passed. "Come, dear!" she cried, twirling Sophia into the open circle before Orion could react. "Dance with me, our lives ones watch over us and are happy to see us happy."

Sophia laughed, startled but delighted. The woman spun her once, twice, then released her into the rhythm of the dance. Her skirt flared, the fabric catching lanternlight like water, and the crowd cheered as another drumbeat rippled through the air.

Orion groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Oh for..."

Before he could retreat, a firm hand grabbed his.

"Don’t be a prude Alpha," the same silver-haired woman said with a knowing grin. "Dance."

Orion looked at her like she’d just told him to jump off a cliff. But the woman had surprising strength; she pulled him forward, forcing him to stumble into the circle beside Sophia.

He froze, every muscle in his body rigid.

Sophia burst into laughter.

Orion looked, quite frankly, like a very well-dressed stick. His movements were all stiff lines and tense shoulders as he tried and failed to find the rhythm. His jaw was locked, his expression a mix of mortification and disbelief.

"Lighten up!" someone called from the crowd.

Sophia, still dancing with the woman, couldn’t stop laughing. "You look...oh my gods, Orion...you look like you’re preparing for battle."

"I am," he muttered. "Against this madness."

The woman who had grabbed him only laughed, twirling away as partners shifted. Sophia found herself face to face with him again.

"Come on," she said breathlessly. "You’re supposed to move."

"I am moving."

"You’re just... swaying."

"That’s movement."

"Barely."

Sophia rolled her eyes, then did something unexpected she grabbed his hands. "Then follow me."

"Sophia..."

"Just follow."

She started to move around him. Orion’s gaze followed her, half bewildered, half entertained despite himself. She flailed her arms dramatically, kicking one foot and then the other.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice strangled with amusement.

"Dancing." She told him.

"You call that dancing?" He asked her with barely restrained humour.

"This," she said with a serious look,"is called the Octopus!"

She moved her hands up and down swaying with the beat as she moved around Orion.

Orion blinked at her, utterly deadpan. "You look like you’re struggling to breathe."

Sophia gasped, pretending to clutch her chest. "The octopus is a noble creature and hence this dance is a noble one. You take that back!"

He snorted, the sound escaping before he could stop it. "I’m sure the octopus doesn’t do that."

"Well, maybe mine’s special." She twirled again, arms out, laughing so hard she nearly tripped over her own feet.

And just like that, something cracked open in Orion.

It started with a huff. Then a low chuckle. Then, before he knew it, he was laughing a real, unguarded laugh that seemed to surprise even him. The tension in his shoulders eased, his stance relaxed, and when Sophia stumbled into him mid-spin, he caught her easily by the waist.

She froze for a second, her laughter dying down as she looked up at him. His face was open now soft in a way she rarely saw, the lanternlight catching on the faint dimples that appeared when he smiled like that.

"You’re still not dancing," she murmured.

He smiled down at her. "You’re still flailing."

She wrinkled her nose. "That’s creative expression."

"Is that what we’re calling it now?"

Sophia shoved at his chest, laughing again. "Fine! Then show me something better!"

Orion arched a brow. "You’re challenging me?"

"Unless you’re too scared to lose."

The faintest glint of amusement sparked in his eyes. "Oh, you’ll regret that."

Before she could retort, he shifted his grip, one hand settling at her waist, the other catching her hand. His movements were surprisingly fluid now, measured, confident. He led her in a slow turn, then another, his steps grounding hers as the rhythm slowed into something steadier.

Sophia blinked, caught off guard. "Wait...you can dance?"

"I never said I couldn’t," he said smoothly. "I said I don’t."

"You lied to me!" She told him.

"You seem to have forgotten, Sophia but I don’t lie." He told her.

Their movements found an easy rhythm then, hers soft and quick, his slow and sure, guiding her effortlessly even when she stumbled. Around them, the festival swirled: laughter, drums, the scent of burning pine and sweet pastries. But for a moment, the rest of the world seemed to fade.

Sophia’s heart thudded. She was enjoying this moment between them more than she cared to admit.

Soon enough, the beat changed this time taking in sometjing faster and Sophia noticed how everyone seemed to move faster following the beat.

"Why is the beat getting faster?" She asked him.

"Because that’s the dance, Sophia. The dance is in rounds. Six rounds and with each round, the beat increases, faster than the other and this is just the third round. Don’t tell me you can’t keep up?" He asked her with a smirk.

He already knew there was no way she was going to back down from a challenge and so she jutted her chin out as she took the lead. She didn’t know the steps, not really so Orion took back control and she met up with him each time the beat increased and by the last one, she was stepping on him and Orion was missing his turns but it wasn’t bad. They laughed and twirled around each other and at some point, some children gathered clapping their hands.

The dance was like a game and the last couple to remain without falling by the sixth round gets a flower wraith.

"Go, Orion! Maybe you’ll get the flower wraith!" Sophia heard a voice that sounded awfully like Ronan’s voice.

She turned and made Orion miss a step, sending them tumbling over each other. Orion lay on the floor with hands over his eyes as he laughed loudly because even with that disastrous end, Sophia was right, dancing made him free. It was like breathing for the soul.

"Now," Ronan said as he approached them, "that is an awful way to end a dance."