“And who stands with you,” Lexie said.
The words caught somewhere deep, a place I’d kept locked since the night I lost my sister. I’d had friends before, but never the unspoken certainty that someone would be with me no matter what the night might bring.
I shut down all thoughts of Addie before they made me cry.
I’d loved my sister. I’d miss her forever. And I was going to make her murderer pay.
Just not tonight.
They worked until most of my hair had been pinned up, leaving soft curls spilling over my shoulders.
Kerralyn stepped back and nodded. “Alright. Let’s cinch up that gown a tiny bit more.” She gathered the laces and started tugging. “Breathe, though not too much.”
“Gorgeous,” Lexie said once Kerralyn had secured the ties.
I turned to the mirror, and my jaw dropped.
The gown hugged me in all the right places, the color making my skin look luminous, my eyes startlingly pale. The skirt spilled in a sweep of soft fabric, the gold thread catching the light until it shimmered like sunlight on water.
The last time I’d worn it, Trew’s fingers had brushed my wrist. He’d leaned close, keeping his voice low enough that only I could hear. “If you wear this again, I’ll have to start a war.”
I’d laughed then. I wasn’t laughing now.
Lexie let out a long whistle. “He’s going to combust.”
Kerralyn’s lips curved. “I hope the ballroom fire wards are in working order.”
Heat curled low in my belly. “What if he doesn’t even look my way?” I asked, trying for nonchalance.
Lexie’s look was pure disbelief. “He’ll notice. The question is whether he’ll survive the encounter.”
“Men have been felled by less,” Kerralyn said with a quiver of her lips.
Lexie drained the last of her wine, set the glass aside, and stood back to survey me critically. “Alright. Kerralyn’s turn.”
My friend blushed but sat, and Lexie and I styled her hair up on her head, leaving a few tendrils brushing her shoulders like me.
After, she stood in front of the mirror, swaying her dress, a big smile on her face. With a pivot, she gave us both hugs and we started for the door, Lexie stopping and turning back to face us.
“Final instructions for all of us,” she said. “Smile like you’re thinking about murdering someone.”
Kerralyn tilted her head. “Which, knowing you, you probably are.”
“Always, honey. Always.”
We burst into laughter.
“Actually,” Lexie said. “Smile like you mean it. Like you believe you’ll live forever and never lose those you love.”
I could tell she was thinking of Derren.
Addie for me, of course. And…
Alright, I wouldn’t want to lose Trew either. I’d said it, if only in my mind.
I liked him. A lot. Probably too much. He was the king of the rebels. Outlawed throughout the rest of the realm.
And I was falling…
