Fire heats my cheeks at the images her words conjure. But it isn’t me I imagine getting undressed. His sweat-soaked skin is all I can think of, the way his muscles shifted and strained when he punched the bag—
I blink the thoughts away. It takes me a moment to clear my voice enough to speak. “What makes you think I’ll even make it to the final round? He could eliminate me any day now.”
“Oh, come now. Even Pessimistic Pearl must have hope if she’s allowed me to provide such a grand wardrobe. Besides, I saw the way he looked at you at the ceremony. Just because I was all the way in back with Dax doesn’t mean I missed the heat between the two of you.”
I snort. “You’re delusional if you think there’s anything even lukewarm between us.”
She lays the shimmery dress with the rest of my clothes and takes a seat at the vanity where she begins removing her hairpins. Each one she unravels leaves a stunning tight wave behind in her dark hair, not a strand longer than chin length. “Then why were you the only one he looked at for longer than a split second?”
“I’m sure he…looked at everyone just the same.”
“No, when he handed you the lily, he held your gaze so long, I thought the entire audience would start shoutingscandal. You could hear a pin drop as everyone watched with awe. Then his fingers brushed yours…” She lets out a dreamy sigh as she releases the last hairpin.
I roll my eyes. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Give me one good reason why else he’d look at you like that when he barely gave the other girls more than a fleeting glance. Aside from Miss Delafonte, of course. He seemed kind to the girl he sent home, but there was no passion there. But you! There’s something stirring indeed.”
I shift my stance, debating whether I should tell her the truth.
Nadia must see it in my eyes, for she meets mine in the mirror. “Out with it, Pearl! What happened?”
“He only acted differently with me because…because I was almost the one he sent home.”
“Why do you think that?”
I nibble my lip. “Because I tried to kiss him.”
Her mouth falls open as she turns to fully face me, eyes bright with amusement. “You little harlot!”
“It didn’t go well. He was really upset about it.”
She shrugs. “You probably just wounded his pride, that’s all. You’ve got to let him kissyou.”
“That’s exactly what I told her,” comes Podaxis’ voice. He shuffles out from behind the dressing curtain in his unseelie form. I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. Was I wrong about him trying to shift?
I return my attention to Nadia. “It’s stupid that I should have to wait to be kissed by a man, but it’s true. At least when it comes to him. I know that now.”
“Well, I have just the things for that.” She rifles through boxes and boxes of little tubs and compacts, then hands one to me. “Cosmetics.”
Wrinkling my nose, I take the tub of coral-pink paste. I despise cosmetics. So much so, in fact, that when Father sent me to try and woo the Unseelie Prince of Lunar, I procured a rather convenient glamour woven to a pair of glass-heeled shoes. It made it so that whenever I wore them, I appeared perfectly coiffed and painted. Not a strand of hair out of place or a freckle to be seen. Unfortunately, I left said glamour behind for a down-on-her-luck servant girl named Ember to wear so that I could escape the palace without notice. I often wonder what became of her…
“Rouge for the lips and cheeks,” Nadia says, stealing me from my thoughts. “Just a dab will give you an enticing glow. Then you just bat your lashes like this.” She demonstrates, one hand on her hips while she juts out her chest. Her lips pull into a pout. “And pucker your lips when you smile. You’ll have him kissing you in no time.”
I haven’t the slightest clue how anyone can pucker their lips and smile at the same time, but I’ll leave that to the experts. And she is clearly the expert as Podaxis has returned to glowing again while he stares up at her.
“What else can I get you, Pearl?” Nadia asks. “I’ll pack you a pair of silk gloves, another pair of shoes—”
“Do you think I have a talent?”
She tilts her head to the side. “I’m sure you have many.”
“But I need one for the Demonstration of Feminine Accomplishment.”
“Well, what do you know how to do?”
I shrug. “Steal. I can swim, but I don’t have my sealskin.”
I’m glad she doesn’t ask me to elaborate about the last part. I’m sure by now she knows exactly who and what I am. “Do you sing?”
