Valavik said, “She will hate you for it.”
I grunted. My gaze shifted to my council’svoliki, at the guard I’d posted outside the entrance.
“She already does,” I replied. “So what does it matter if she hates me a little more? The horde comes first. Always.”
We needed to move quickly. The black moon would come soon. And preparations needed to be made.
“She will need to demonstrate her power,” I said, changing my mind. Mina might be sick from the wine, but I realized I couldn’t give her a reprieve. “Tonight. I want the horde there to witness it. Afterwards, I’ll announce her as myMorakkari.”
“Lysi,” Valavik said. “That will be best.”
“Tell the horde. Tonight, we will all meet the fog.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Is-is this for me?” I asked, my tone uncertain, as I ran my fingers over the dress.
“Lysi,” the Dakkari female replied, just as the fire crackled loudly in the basin, sending sparks flying. “For tonight.”
“What’s tonight?” I asked, my heart giving a little stammer with nerves.
The Dakkari female had been with me for most of the day, though her presence had mostly been a silent one. When I’d asked what I should call her, she told me to call herlirilla. Which, to my understanding, wasn’t exactly a name. Rather, it was a title. One meant for female acquaintances who were not yet friends.
Though she’d been quiet, mylirillahadn’t been unkind to me. She’d been patient, actually. Nothing seemed to rattle her, not even needing to assist a strange human throughout the day with mundane things. She hadn’t blinked when she helped bathe me earlier. She’d given my hair a thorough scrubbing and had even washed between my toes. I didn’t think I’d ever been cleaner in my life. When I’d needed to relieve my bladder, she left with the half-full chamber pot and returned with a clean one.
She’d also made sure I had plenty to eat. Though I was chained and the leash of it wasn’t long, she brought me food and watched as I ate. I had the impression that she’d report every morsel of food I put into my mouth. And I atea lot.I had never been so full, and for solong, in my entire life.
As the day dragged on, my nausea settled and my headache abated. The food helped, as did the water and the rest.
When darkness had begun to fall, thelirillabriefly left the tent—which she’d told me was called avoliki—only to return with the dress.
“Lysi,” she said, taking it from my hands and gesturing that I stand up. With all the rest and the food, I stood easily, on strong legs that didn’t shake underneath me. “TheVorakkarrequests it.”
TheVorakkar.
My lips pressed together.
“He will be here soon. So you need to dress,” she informed me. The mere words sent my heart racing. I hadn’t seen Rowin since this morning. Not since he’d stormed from thevolikias I bathed.
In the blink of an eye, the Dakkari female had me naked. The dress she’d given me earlier was thin and billowy. She unclasped the fastenings at the shoulders and it slid from me, pooling at my feet. Then she was dressing me once more, sliding the material over my head like I was a child.
Only, the dress was not something a child would ever wear. The white material was just as thin as my previous dress. And if not for the beautiful and intricate pattern of the gold threads that weaved across the bodice and down towards my sex, I would have felt exposed. Not as exposed as in the dress I’d worn before Rowin in the fog—that translucent thing that had revealed my entire body to his molten eyes—but still vulnerable.
For such a revealing dress, the length was long, ending past my knees. It was only held up, however, by thin straps against my shoulders, so thin I could barely see them.
“This will do,” she said with a self-satisfied nod as she inspected me. Her fingers brushed my face. “And your color is returning now that you have rested.”
As I was still reeling from the dress—and wondering why Rowin wanted me dressed likethis—thelirillaturned me and started brushing out my hair. I hadn’t even seen a brush when she entered, but it slid through my wavy hair, pulling at my scalp in certain sections.
“TheVorakkargave you this to wear,” she informed me, flashing a golden thing in front of me. It took me a moment to realize that it was meant for my hair. It was some sort of decorative clasp. Andbeautiful. It was pure gold, shimmering in the firelight. At half the size of my palm, it had golden leaves adorning it. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
A gift?I wondered, frowning.From Rowin?
No, that couldn’t be right. Thelirillamust be mistaken.
I reached out to touch it. The gold was warm to the touch, as if it had just left his own palm.
Snatching my hand back, I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. If the Dakkari female expected me to say anything, she would be disappointed, and a moment later, she pulled back the top half of my hair and secured it all with the gold clasp at the back of my head.
