“Why, should I not be able to?”
“It’s a bit unusual,” he confessed. “The cloak is heavily glamoured.”
“Well, I do have Fae blood somewhere in my ancestry.”
“Even so, my mom’s ability to glamour was renowned. Strong enough to fool almost anyone.”
“What does it look like to most people?” I questioned.
“A plain black cloak.”
“Then most people are missing out. It’s beautiful. Does it serve any purpose?”
Pride flickered in his eyes. “These aren’t just feathers to me. I can use their magic.”
I remembered back to our misadventure in the Spring Court. “Like when you cloaked us from the Bunyip?”
He nodded. “Like that. Each feather does something a bit different.”
“And here I thought you were just wearing it to attract attention,” I said playfully.
It wasn’t exactly an inconspicuous garment…
He chuckled lightly, his eyes dropping to mine. “Been thinking a lot about who I’m trying to attract, have you?”
I smiled up at him with false sweetness. “Just worried you might be a bit attention starved. That’s all.”
He laughed again, loud and hearty. “I appreciate your concern.”
“Anytime.” My eyes lingered on the cloak, wondering if it was as soft as it looked.
“Do you let people touch it?” I asked.
“As a rule? No,” he replied. My shoulders sank.
Corvin took a step closer to me. “Would you like to be the exception?”
I couldn’t resist the temptation. I ran a hand gently down the cloak’s brightly colored plumage.
Soft.Softer than I’d thought. I looked up to find Corvin watching me.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
“Yes,” I murmured, withdrawing my hand. “Let me grab my things from the study before we leave.”
Corvin followed me into the room.
“Here’s the dress.” He reached into his bag, pulling out the fabric. “It belongs to my friend Farryn. She also gave me a pair of shoes for you to wear.”
“Please tell her thanks for me,” I requested, feeling touched she wanted to help despite not knowing me.
It was a beautiful white silk gown.
“I better try it on before we leave, just in case it doesn’t fit,” I said, ducking behind a partition in the study for privacy. I pulled the floor-length dress on over my head, hoping it would be the right size so I could wear it to the dinner party. It was unlikeanything I had ever worn before. It clung to my body, a little tighter than I would have liked, but not so tight it didn’t fit or was at risk of tearing. The front of the gown was modest enough, with a cowl-neck bodice. The same could not be said about the back. Because it didn’t exist. The gown was completely backless, ending at the curve of my spine.
“It’s pretty low-cut in the back,” I called out to Corvin.
He answered from the other side of the partition. “It’s the fashion in the Sk—I mean to say I know a lot of women with wings.”
