“Why is it called Widowsbloom?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, where does it get the name from?”
“Huh…I’ve never really thought about it. I guess because it’s poisonous, so maybe from the fact that it can kill you?” I stop and stare at him.
“It can what?”I almost scream at him.
“Whoa, calm down. Only if you ingest it.” He nudges my shoulder and gives me a wink before turning his head to the slight movement on my workbench. “A Rustcap!” he says, moving closer to my little mushroom friend. “Wow, haven’t seen one of these guys in years,” he says.
“Thomas said they normally travel in groups, but I found him here alone.” I say, moving to pat him gently on his cap. He looks up at me, wobbling closer to my hand. “He’s become my companion in this glass prison of mine,” I say, turning to Kael with narrowed eyes.
“It’s not a prison, Elodie. Don’t think of it like that,” he says, but I don’t respond, only rolling my eyes slightly. He gives the little Rustcap a wave before turning to leave.
“Be ready by sundown,” he calls over his shoulder with a salute.
Ready?
What the hell do I even wear?
The castle feels quiet after a full day in the glasshouse. Thomas escorts me back, dutiful as ever. At the threshold to Rowan’s wing, he straightens, turning to me.
“Don’t forget my dance,” he says.
“I won’t,” I tell him. It feels like a harmless promise. Giving him a small wave, I close the door behind me with a familiar, heavy click. The shared room greets me first, as always. The chessboard still set from the night before, and the book I’m reading sits on the armchair of the sofa. Passing through the adjoining door into my room.
My room… did I actually just call it that?
The word doesn’t feel as foreign to me anymore. I glance down at the bed and laid out perfectly across it, a dark green silk dress. From the neckline, fine strands arc outward and upward like the veins of a leaf, tracing the collarbones and shoulders. It’s structured around the bodice and pulled close at the waist. It’s beautiful, not something I would wear, but all the same, stunning.
I pick up the note to the side, the messy handwriting telling me who it is before I have to see the scribbled K at the bottom.
Wear this. Trust me.
I shake my head, deciding there is absolutely no way in hell I am walking out in something like that. My entire figure would be on show, let alone my cleavage. But then I panic, fearing they will expect me to wear this.
Does everyone dress up?
Will I look stupid turning up in my simple floral dress?
I let out a heavy sigh before deciding to try it on. It can’t hurt just to see how it fits, right? I slip into the dress, placing the fine strands across my shoulders and staring down at the silk fabric. It has a slit that runs to the top of my thigh. I glance at myself in the bathroom mirror, feeling a flutter of nerves but also something new.
I feel good.
Great, actually.
And I can’t help the thoughts that run rampant in my mind.
What will Rowan think?
I haven’t seen Rowan all day. The last we spoke was after we returned from our trip into the forest.
After I barely won the deal, we made with the sword.
