Nelia sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m afraid there’s little you can do without making it worse,” she said. Since she used to be a journalist herself, I trusted her insight. “The papers always spin things the way they like—they may say that they’re here to report the facts, but ultimately sales are the driving factor, and sometimes just their own bias. The best you can do is keep your head down. This will all be over soon enough, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a blissful honeymoon with your new husband while they harass someone else.” She winked atme.
The thought of actually getting away from all this for a few weeks with Iannis did lift my spirits. I held the image of the two of us frolicking on a secluded beach wearing nothing but our skin close in my mind’s eye as I suffered through the rest of my day, packed with meetings and tedious duties. By the time I’d finished with the last one, I was ready to curl up in my bed and shut out the rest of theworld.
But I had one last appointment, and she was waiting in my sitting room when I entered. “Mrs. Lawry!” I exclaimed as the seamstress rose from my couch along with her assistant. “By Magorah, I’d completelyforgotten.”
“Which is why I insisted upon coming here rather than having you come down to my shop for your fitting,” the seamstress said, clucking her tongue as she rose. “My goodness, you look like you’re about to drop. Do you need a few moments to refreshyourself?”
“No.” I shook my head, looking toward the garment bag that had been carefully laid out on one of the couches, and then toward the kit on the coffee table that I knew was stuffed with sewing supplies. “We should just get this overwith.”
“That’s no way to talk about the most exciting wedding dress of the century,” Mrs. Lawry admonished as I began to shuck off my clothing. She and her assistant unzipped the garment bag while I stripped down to my underwear. “I must admit I had some misgivings about the design you settled on, but this is certainly my finest work todate.”
“Itisgorgeous,” I said with a smile as I watched them pull out the dress. It was ivory silk, with a halter neckline that wrapped around my neck like a choker. The halter was embroidered with black lace, and that same lace bridged down the spine of my otherwise bare back, then merged with the train, which I’d made sure was detachable. That same lace covered the bodice, making it look almost like armor, and there was a leg slit in the front that allowed for easiermovement.
The seamstress nudged me onto the stool she’d brought, and I held still as they secured the dress onto my body. It looked just how I’d imagined, fitting to my curves perfectly. There was nowhere to hide my weapons on the dress, but that didn’t matter. Fenris’s vast repertoire of magical spells included the magical sleeve pocket I’d wanted to learn for so long, and I kept my weapons in there now, along with a few otheressentials.
“We’ll need to take it in here a little,” the seamstress said, pinching at the loose fabric around my waist. “You’ve lost some weight,” sheaccused.
I winced. “I’ve skipped a meal here and there,” I admitted. Or rather, I’d grabbed a handful of beef jerky or whatever else had been available. As much as I’d enjoyed breakfast with Iannis this morning, there were many days these past few months where we’d been too busy to sit down and enjoy a mealtogether.
“Well, you’d better not skip any more before the wedding,” she warned as she began to stick pins through the fabric while her assistant fussed with my train. “With your fast metabolism, you’ll become skin and bones, and that’s hardly an attractive look for abride.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said, studying my reflection in the mirror. Now that she mentioned it, I was looking a bit skinnier, and the shadows beneath my eyes weren’t particularly flattering either. Makeup would hide most of that, but still, she was right. I needed to take better care ofmyself.
But how was I supposed to find time for that when the responsibilities just kept pilingon?
Suddenly, I felt a mad impulse to rip the dress off and run away from it all. To escape to some deserted island like the one Iannis and I had made love on for the first time, and run wild and free. Perhaps I’d even run around in panther form for a good longwhile.
Remember the honeymoon,I told myself for the umpteenth time today. It was beginning to sound like a mantra. This would all be over soon. I’d been through much worse than this. Surely I could handle a wedding,right?
6
The next fewweeks passed by in a blur of constant activity. I bore the stress of prepping for the Convention with a smile, determined not to worry Iannis or let anyone else know how much of a downer all this madness was. Thankfully, I had Nelia to help me juggle everything, and once I rolled up my sleeves and dove into this mess, I tackled things with a combination of ferocity and efficiency that surprised even me. The entire time, I kept my upcoming honeymoon in the forefront of my mind—the shiny carrot I was chasing. This hectic phase would be over soon, I reminded myself. Only five weeks togo.
“Miss Baine?” Nelia called through the telephone intercom to my office in the MagesGuild.
I bit back a sigh and answered. “Is the spokesman for the firefighter union here?” I asked. I was supposed to arrange schedules for setting anti-fire wards with him, freeing up the Mages Guild to deal with the tricky Conventionlogistics.
“Actually, he cancelled at the last minute because of a fire in some warehouse. Your next appointment was postponed too. You’re free until fouro’clock.”
I blinked. Four o’clock? I glanced at the clock on my wall. That was hours away! “Thank you,” I said with a grin. “I’ll be out of the office untilthen.”
I hung up before Nelia could respond, then bounced out of my chair and left the Guild. I couldn’t remember the last time I had three whole hours of time to myself, and even though there was paperwork I should catch up on, I desperately needed the break. Rushing up to my room, I changed into a pair of shorts and an old but well-loved T-shirt, then calledComenius.
“Hey, Com,” I said when he answered the phone. “Is Rusaliaaround?”
“She’s off school today,” he said. “Are you finally free to tutorher?”
“I was actually thinking more of a playdate,” I said, “with her, Liu, and Tinari.” I used to spend time with the girls every week before things got so hectic—I tutored Rusalia on controlling her magic, and in general I enjoyed playing with the high-spirited little girls. “Do you think you can bring herby?”
“She would love that,” Comenius said as Rusalia squealed in the background. “She’ll be at the palace within thehour.”
I hung up the phone, then checked in with Janta and Mrs. Tandry. Liu was baking bread right now, but she’d be free soon, and Tinari was nearly done helping Janta catalogue a section of the library. They promised to send the girls straight to the playroom as soon as they weredone.
With half an hour left until the girls arrived, I wandered back to the Mages Guild wing to see if I could catch Iannis for a few minutes. He’d already been up and gone when I’d opened my eyes this morning, and my serapha charm had told me he’d left the palace. But he was back now, and after barely seeing him for nearly a week, I missedhim.
“Sunaya,” Iannis greeted me with a smile as I opened the door—he was seated behind his desk, with a mountain of papers in front of him. His eyebrows rose a little as he took in my outfit. “Playing hookytoday?”
I smiled back. “Two of my appointments cancelled, so I’ve found myself with a bit of free time.You?”
