She smiled to herself and went back to work, already planning what she'd serve Sara for their tea party.
***
LYRA STARED AT HERreflection in the mirror, hands shaking.
The puffiness around her eyes was worse this morning.The redness and fine lines shouldn't be there yet; she was only twenty-six.
She reached for the small crystal vial on her vanity.The makeup inside shimmered with the iridescent sheen of crushed pearls mixed with basilisk venom, expensive and exclusive.A merchant from the coast had sold it to her six months ago.
"Just a touch," he'd said."Makes skin luminous.Flawless.But use sparingly, because it's potent."
She'd been careful at first.A dab here and there for special occasions.
But the results were incredible.Her skin glowed.Fine lines vanished.She looked radiant, ageless, perfect...so she'd used more.And more.
Now she needed it just to look normal.Without it, she looked haggard.Tired and old.
With trembling fingers, she applied it under her eyes, across her cheekbones, along her jawline.The transformation was immediate.The puffiness faded.The lines smoothed.She looked beautiful again.
But it was wearing off faster now.She'd have to find more.The merchant had stopped coming to town, and her last two letters had gone unanswered.
There was another supplier, supposedly, in the lower market.Sketchier source, less refined product.
She'd go tomorrow.She had to.Her hands were still shaking as she set down the vial.
On her desk were scattered papers, with bills, letters from creditors, and a final notice from the landlord.Her family's money was gone.Her father had gambled away their fortune years ago, but they'd kept up appearances through careful debt management and her mother's social connections.
Viktor had been her way out.Two years of courtship, of expensive gifts she'd accepted, dinners at his estate, promises of a future together.
She'd been so sure.Everyone had been sure.
Then the pun farm girl appeared, and suddenly Viktor was "exploring other options."
Lyra's reflection smiled back at her, beautiful and perfect and completely fake.She hated that girl.Hated her for existing.Hated her for having land and magic and luck and everything Lyra had worked for and lost.
The weather magic hummed under her skin, responding to her anger.Clouds gathered outside her window, darkening unnaturally.She could make things difficult for Wren.
Small things at first.Rumors, social sabotage.A convenient storm to damage crops at the wrong time.Nothing traceable.Nothing the Marshall could prove.And if that didn't work...
Well.Accidents happened all the time on cursed farms.Monster attacks, shield failures...So many tragic possibilities.
Lyra picked up the vial again, staring at the shimmering contents.Just a little more.To last through the day.She applied another layer, watching herself become beautiful again.
Perfect.
Everything would be perfect once the pun farm girl was gone.
