A small breeze drifts in from the window, and I tilt my head to listen. With all that happened, I nearly forgot about the flowers Tig offered to grow, the ones that will help keep my demon at bay. While it is unlike the sisters to come, only to vanish before I’ve seen them, I don’t think too much of it. With Riah close by, I can hardly blame them for remaining distant, even if I would like to see them again before I find myself locked in a cell.
I find Riah standing at the edge of the bed. She’s eyeing a large black box tied with shimmering lace, marked with the golden script of Adora’s dress shop. Beside it, a small envelope signed in the general’s hand.
“I see the general has you right where he wants you.” Riah chuckles as I walk to her side and reach for the letter.
“What do you mean?” I ask, cracking the blank seal.
“I’ve known enough well-bred ladies in my long life to confidently say that most would have reached for the box containing their gown before reading a letter from their male,” she explains.
My nose crinkles in disgust when I say, “Then I feel just as sorry for the ladies you’ve known as I do for the males who have attempted to entertain them.”
She laughs as I slide the note from within the folds of the envelope, plopping down on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh as I summarize aloud, “He apologizes that he won’t make it back before the party and says that you will escort me there.”
It isn’t how I imagined my last moments with him but there is little to nothing I can do about it now. I set the letter upon the bed despondently, eyeing the black box. I tug at the lace, in a half-hearted attempt to unravel it when my eyes snag on a black velvet fold sitting on top. Unclasping the center and folding back the thin fabric reveals a delicate necklace of black shimmering stone.
“I guess you’ve got him right where you want him too.” Riah smiles.
I don’t tell her that if that were the case he would be here now, beside me. I simply lay it back against the velvet and turn my attention to the gown.
Adora has outdone herself. And though the gown is a far cry from the memories I hold of the crone I met in the woods, it will certainly serve its purpose tonight.
CHAPTER 39
THE A’KORI PALACE
Present Day
“Are you ready?” Riah asks from the main chamber, her voice muffled by the tall doors of the washroom.
I sigh, not at all impressed with what I see in the mirror. At least the gown gives a valiant effort to distract from the dull features of my human skin and many imperfections. It’s the lightest fabric I’ve ever worn, despite the thick layers of the skirt.
Adora maintained the high slits that are so popular in the A’kori court, revealing a shameful amount of flesh. I will never tell the seamstress and can only hope she will not be in attendance tonight to see that I have torn one of the many layers from the skirt and wrapped my legs to conceal them. The binding is perhaps a better representation of the crone in all her tattered rags and serves a purpose I had not initially intended. The same long strips of fabric that wind about my legs serve to conceal the feynstone blades strapped to my thighs.
The seamstress constructed the bodice well and the deep blue lace of the gown sets fire to my eyes., though the neck plunges lower than I wouldhave designed for myself. The flesh below the rise of my breasts and down the length of my arms is obscured by little more than a sheer panel of lace.
I’ve never been partial to the gowns of court or the extravagant adornment that accompanies them, yet I can’t help but appreciate the unparalleled beauty of the fabric when it moves. I suck in an appreciative breath when thousands of tiny crystals sewn into the fabric shimmer as if I were wrapped in a blanket of starlight.
“Shivaria?”
“I’m coming.”
I place the last of the precious flowers left by the sisters in my long cascade of thick spirals. I hadn’t planned for them and find that after everything, I am completely unwilling to let them out of my sight. If I leave them here, I may never return to his chamber to claim them. It is pure luck that the waxy petals gleam a dark blue and purple when they catch the light. They are all but lost in the depth of my curls, glinting subtly as if my tresses contain a secret of their own.
I’m struggling with the clasp of the necklace when I push open the door of the main room. I glare down at the ridiculous heeled sandals Leanna taught me to walk in. While I have never been fond of the strain they put on my body, I can at least appreciate the pointed tip of each heel as a makeshift weapon. I expect Riah to mock me and prepare myself for the shocked look on her face when she sees me like this. But she only smiles, nodding her head as if this is the most natural thing in the world and at last everything is set right.
“Bagya was a brave choice,” she says.
“I’m not sure choice is the right word,” I tease.
Her head tips to the side curiously when she asks, “What do you mean?”
“I certainly hadn’t planned on picking Bagya until the general explained the custom of that choice,” I say, “that it should be the last fea I had dealings with.”
My stomach sinks with her eyebrows raise suspiciously and she asks, “The general told you there is a custom?”
I nod, managing to find the clasp of my necklace.
She raises her hands in the air and smirks, shaking her head as she says, “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
