“It’s nearly sundown,” she replied. “You’ve been asleep all day.”
“Oh.” I never would have known. Ididfeel rested, though. It would probably be a few days before I slept off my exhaustion completely, but I had to admit I felt refreshed—or at least more clear-headed than I’d been in the moments before I drifted off.
“Here,” Ary said, shoving the dress into my free hand. “Give me your towel.”
“Oh, no, I don’t need you to—”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll turn around. But I’m staying. We need to make sure the dress fits and then get started on your hair.”
Considering I had no other clothes to wear—my other dress was probably still on the floor of the bathing room—I saw no reason to protest. Besides, I had to admit that I was dying to try on the beautiful garment. The handful of times I’d cosplayed at local fantasy conventions had nothing on the real thing.
The dress fit like a glove. It was almost like magic, the way it molded to my body as if I’d been born to wear it. The skirts were even flowier than I’d realized, swirling around my legs like water as I spun around toward Ary.
“Ooh, I wish we had a mirror in here so I could show you,” she said, clapping her hands together in delight. “But trust me, the Mighty Oak is going to drool when he sees you.”
My stomach twisted, my conversation with Talon still fresh on my mind. Did Iwanthim to drool? Even knowing what I now knew?
Ary had shoes for me, too—soft boots that were much more comfortable than the last ones.
“Now let’s do your hair.” Ary gestured to the bed. I hadn’t even noticed the circlet and ribbons hanging over her arm until that moment.
I sat down, and she climbed up on the bed behind me.
“I’m not usually good with hair,” she said, running her fingers through mine. “Fiona always does mine. But yours is so pretty and wavy I think I can manage.”
I winced as her fingers caught on a snarl. I was honestly pretty sure my hair was a disaster, especially considering I hadn’t even seen a brush in days. It was probably agoodthing there wasn’t a mirror in here, because at least without one I could imagine I looked like the fantasy version of myself in my head—not the reality of a girl who’d been running for her life for two days straight.
Ary hummed to herself as she worked, continuing to comb through the rats’ nest of my hair with her fingers. Every once in a while I’d feel her twist and tug, presumably adding a braid, and before I knew it, she sat back with a satisfied sigh. “That should do it.”
“Really?” I reached up. Most of my hair still hung freely down my back, but my fingers brushed against several twists and plaits she’d added.
“Well, one last thing.” She climbed off the bed and stepped around in front of me, the circlet in her hands. It was a simple thing—like a piece of gold wire haphazardly looped around three or four times—but still enchanting. Several blue ribbons were tied to the back. She placed the circlet carefully on my head, threading my hair through it in a couple of places to keep it in place.
In this position, even with the high neckline of her dress, I got a close-up view of the violet tattoo that spread across her collarbone and up her throat. From this distance, it looked less like an intricate pattern and more like strange, beautiful letters.
“What does it say?” I asked. “Your tattoo?”
She froze, her mouth dropping into a flat line. It was like all her effervescent energy had just disappeared in a single breath.
“I didn’t mean— I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I wasn’t trying to pry.”
“You’re not.” She smiled at me, but it was missing her usual spark. “It’s not really that interesting, I promise.”
Despite her claim that it was no big deal, she seemed in no hurry to answer me. So I dropped it. “How do I look?”
Some of the life crept back into her. “Beautiful. Just wait until the Mighty Oak sees you.” She grabbed my hands, tugging me up off the bed. “Come on—I don’t want to miss anything.”
I let her pull me out of the room and down the stone corridor, back to the large gathering room where we’d had breakfast. There were fewer people here this time—maybe half a dozen—and most were dressed in colorful garb just like Ary and me.
On the far side of the room were Talon and Octavian.
Talon saw me first. When his mouth spread into a grin, Octavian turned, following his gaze.
When his eyes landed on me, a little shock of electricity crackled through my bones. My mind automatically answered the question I’d avoided earlier:Yes, I want him to drool. Even knowing everything I know.
“Ladies.” Talon spread his arms, coming towards us. “You look lovely.”
Octavian followed on his heels, and though his eyes remained locked on me, burning with an intensity I could feel even from here, his mouth had dropped into a frown.
