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  “If he’s calling you Talana then he still wants you.” Nadiah was already playing with her hair, trying new styles in the 3-D viewer. “Trust me on that, Sophia.”

  Sophie hoped that she was right. Talking about Sylvan and her problems with him had made things clear in a way they hadn’t been before. And what was clearer than anything else, was that she wanted him—really wanted him—fangs and all. I’m not going to hand him to Feenah on a silver platter just because I’m afraid of a few little bites, she told herself firmly. I just hope it’s not too late…

  The dance was being held in the main grotto down among the silvery-white trees Sophie had seen the first time she’d passed through it. She wondered if they were the Snowdrop trees Sylvan had talked about and decided they must be. Their leaves were thin and spidery and delicate—almost like palm sized snowflakes—on the ends of the pale, glimmering branches. The snowflake leaves were pure white with just a tracery of pale blue along their edges, making them look ethereal and lovely and setting the scene for a magical dance.

  But the scenery wasn’t on Sophie’s mind as she stepped under the farthest tree and studied the dancers. She scanned the crowd of couples dancing and winced when she saw Magistrate Licklow dancing with a tall, thin woman who was probably his wife. She wished desperately that she hadn’t made a fool of herself quite so recently in front of all these people. But that’s in the past now, she told herself, lifting her chin. And anyway, once we leave here I’ll never have to see them again. So who cares what they think?

  Still, she had always been shy and it took an enormous effort not to just turn tail and run away before everyone at the dance noticed the “crazy” off-worlder and started talking. She might have lost her nerve completely if it hadn’t been for Nadiah standing behind her.

  “Go on,” she hissed, poking Sophie in the back. “You look fabulous. Get out there.”

  Sophie hoped she was right. She was wearing one of Nadiah’s few non-living outfits and it was a little too tight for her taste. Still, she had to admit that it looked nice and draped well. It was a long red leather dress which came down to her ankles. Nadiah had told her was made from tanned, dyed vranna hide. The dress had a deep V neck which was trimmed in short, black fur and high, off the shoulder sleeves. A deep split up one thigh was also trimmed in fur and showed a lot of leg—or would have if she hadn’t been wearing a pair of high black boots with a wedge-type heel.

  The leather dress and boots made Sophie feel like she was dressed for a Wild West fashion show, but at least she didn’t have to worry about her outfit tickling or itching her…or deserting her at an inopportune moment. So it was with a fair amount of confidence that she stepped out from under her tree and walked toward Sylvan.

  He was dancing with Feenah but it was impossible to tell if he was happy about it or not. His face was completely impassive as he performed the elaborate steps to the slow, steady beat of the stately music. It was kind of like a waltz with a very slow techno beat in the background—bizarre but somehow catchy.

  What if he wants her now instead of me? What if he hates me for saying all those awful things about his planet? Sophie squeezed her hands into fists nervously. She could feel her heart beating in every part of her body at once and, even more strangely, it felt as though the blood in her veins was running hot. Which was completely ridiculous, of course—her blood was the same temperature as the rest of her body. What she was feeling was no doubt a bad case of the nerves and that was all. But it was never going to get better if she didn’t do something about it.

  Sophie took a deep breath. Here goes.

  Walking up to Feenah—who had eyes only for Sylvan—she reached up and tapped the taller woman on the shoulder.

  “What?” Feenah looked around in obvious irritation and her eyes widened when they finally settled on Sophie. “Oh look, Sylvan, your little pet is here.”

  “Sophia?” They stopped dancing and Sylvan gave her a worried look.

  “Hi.” Sophie smiled at him. “I’m, uh, feeling better.”

  He smiled back. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Feenah’s eyes flashed but her voice was as sweet as ever. “Whatever can the poor little thing want? I thought you’d put her to bed for the night?”

  Sophie raised an eyebrow. “What I want is for you to stop talking about me like I’m some lower life form. I’m not Sylvan’s pet, I’m…well, anyway, I care for him. Deeply.”

  “How sweet. Of course you do.” Feenah gave her a patronizing smile. “And you can tell him all about it once the dance is over. But right now we’re a little busy, so if you’d excuse us—” She put her hands on Sylvan’s shoulders again but Sophie was determined—she wasn’t about to be pushed aside.

  “I don’t think so.” She stepped closer so that she was almost between Feenah and Sylvan. “I’m cutting in.”

  Feenah gave her a look of wide-eyed surprise. “You can’t mean you want to dance with my Sylvan? I’m afraid you’ll embarrass yourself, sweetie—and haven’t you had enough of that already tonight?” She gave Sophie a sweetly sympathetic look that was obviously fake.

  “He is not your Sylvan,” Sophie said with as much dignity as she could muster. “And yes, I want to dance with him.”

  Feenah clearly wasn’t going anywhere. “Why don’t you watch and see what you can learn for the next dance? After all, you don’t even know the steps.”

  “Then I’ll teach her.” Stepping away from Feenah’s grip on his shoulders, Sylvan offered Sophie his hand. “Would you care to dance?”

  “Yes.” She smiled at him gratefully. “Yes, I really would.”

  Feenah’s smile was slipping but she still tried to keep her voice light. “It’s all well and good for you to want to teach her about our customs, Sylvan, but you know it’s against tradition to change partners in the middle of a dance.”

  Sylvan shrugged. “I guess I’ll be breaking tradition then.” He nodded at Feenah. “It’s been nice seeing you again after all this time, Feenah but I have to see to Sophia. She is my first and most important priority.”

  “Is that so?” Feenah’s smile was entirely gone now, replaced by a spiteful look that reminded Sophie very much of Lady Whitethorn, her mother. “Well then, I hope you enjoy your dance,” she said, glaring at Sophie but speaking to Sylvan. “That is, unless your little pet has another fit and starts going crazy again.”

  Sylvan frowned at her, his ice blue eyes narrowing. “Be careful of what you say, Feenah. Sophia is the female I love. If you were a male I would have to challenge you for talking about her in that manner.”

  Sophie’s heart gave a thump and it was all she could do not to stick out her tongue at the other woman. It was a childish impulse, of course, but then, Feenah had been treating her like a child or a pet from the minute she’d met her. Would it really be so bad to at least say Nyah, nyah, nyah, he’s mine, not yours? Probably so, she decided reluctantly. But she couldn’t resist giving the fuming Feenah a little smirk as Sylvan took her in his arms and led her into the dance.

  Me, he picked me! her heart sang as he held her close. It was true that she had no idea of the steps but Sylvan was a surprisingly graceful dancer for such a large male and he seemed to have a way of putting her exactly where she needed to be at any given time. Sophie relaxed in his arms, letting him lead, and everything was perfect.

  “That was wonderful,” she said as he held her close. The music was slow enough that she could talk to him comfortably as they danced. “Thank you for being so sweet, even after all the terrible things I said.”

  Sylvan smiled down at her. “You were upset and I was the cause of it. What did you say that I didn’t deserve?”

  “Still, I shouldn’t have decided that I hated your whole planet on the basis of a few bad experiences. After all, I’m sure Earth seemed weird to you the first time you visited it as well.”

  “It was…different,” Sylvan admitted. “I came mostly to try and keep Baird in line. He was about to claim Olivia a