Lexie shook her head. “You can tell us.”
“It’s nothing. I just…like her. That’s all.”
“And does she like you too?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe?” Kerralyn bit down on her lower lip. “So tell me more about why the king will be paying so much attention to you. Or should I say more attention to you than the hawk-like way he watches you already.”
“Nice deflection,” Lexie said.
Kerralyn gave her a curtsy. “Thank you.” She turned back to me. “Don’t think I won’t keep pressing for an answer.”
“There’s not much going on between us.” Well, if you excluded a few kisses and a mutually satisfying grinding session. “We’re friends.”
“Friends don’t give each other private magical lessons.” Lexie nudged her head to where Pherin perched on my windowsill. She’d flown out the window during my bath, and since she hadn’t said goodbye, I wasn’t sure when I’d see her again. “Speaking of which, are you going to introduce us?”
“Pherin?” I called out. “Meet Lexie, who’s sitting on the bed, and Kerralyn. My best friends.” Me. Best friends. Who would’ve thought? Mia and I had been close, but she was my lady-in-waiting first and then a friend. It wasn’t like she’d met me without knowing who I was first. Friendship could grow out of obligation, but this didn’t feel quite the same. “Kerralyn and Lexie? This is Pherin.”
Lexie slid off the bed and went over to Pherin, stooping down and cooing to the bird. “Aren’t you a gorgeous little minxpip?”
Pherin preened and sent me a sharp look along with something I interpreted to mean,you need to admire me more often or we’ll be in trouble.
“She’s amazing. Thanks to her, I can do this…” With a flick of my finger, I lifted my gown and drifted it over to me, feeling proud that I didn’t drop it or slam it into the wall beside my head.
“Ah, you can move objects?” Kerralyn pouted. “So far, other than simple tricks, my magic appears to be focused on remembering everything I read, plus being able to read new languages.”
“Those are handy skills,” I said. “How about you, Lex?”
“I’m not sure yet.” She frowned. “We’re still testing. I can move objects like you, but only small things. That’s handy in the dining hall, but a book would be too heavy.”
“No shutting doors,” I said.
She shook her head, and her face cleared. “Back to our gorgeous king.”
“Heispretty, isn’t he?” Kerralyn said in a dreamy voice.
“What about Nia?” I asked.
“She’s pretty too.”
Lexie and I shared a smile. “Let’s see if we can make you so gorgeous he’ll forget his own name.” She slid off the bed and helped me don my gown while Kerralyn fluffed the skirt.
Once I’d been laced up, they fell into an easy rhythm around me, with Lexie working a brush through my hair, Kerralyn holding the iron and then handing her various combs and pins from the box.
I couldn’t count the number of times someone had styled my hair and helped me look good for one occasion or another, but this felt different. Wonderful.
Once, Addie had curled my hair before a banquet, and we’d laughed about which lords would trip over themselves to get our attention. She’d leaned close, whispering that she’d rather be anywhere else, and I’d whispered back that we’d sneak away after dessert.
My throat tightened at the memory that hurt enough I had to blink.
Lexie caught my gaze in the mirror, and her teasing look softened. “Are you alright?”
I nodded. “Just…thinking.”
“Don’t do that,” she said briskly, winding another section of hair and securing it on the top of my head. “Tonight is about looking so dangerous the court can’t decide whether to kiss you or run.”
“Then let them run,” I said. “The ones who stay will be worth bleeding for.”
Kerralyn slid a pin into place. “It’s also about showing off alliances, people seeing who you stand with.”
