“Helga,” Eldi called, picking up on the silence. “She filled and drained it twice. She didn’t know when you’d be back. I would’ve just kept it heated for you, but I’m in here.”
My palm covered my heart. Bless her.
There wasn’t enough time to soak and actually enjoy the bath, but at least I could lather my hair with shampoo and conditioner, which I did as fast as humanly possible, even if it meant rinsing it out as soon as it went on.
Water dripping off my skin, I wrapped myself in a towel and tiptoed to the vanity.
I pulled out a drawer. The handle fell off the wood, screws clattering to the floor. Oops. I’d packed my own toiletries, but most of those were nearly empty, their caps having busted open on the airplane. But these… Picking up a glass bottle, I pulled off the lid, and sprayed—vetiver and jasmine. These looked new, and lavish, and smelled better than anything I’d brought.
First, I tackled the essentials: deodorant, moisturizer, brushing my teeth. The blow-dryer was convenient, if out of place. But that’s how everything in this castle was. A hodgepodge of magic and electricity, ice and stone, everything so at odds.
After drying my hair, I tried another drawer. Stuck. I pulled harder, and it abruptly shot forward, stopping just before it crashed to the floor. Oops, again.
Makeup: an even more foreign concept. My body trembled with the swell of nerves as I fanned out the concealer, blush, liner, mascara. The first did an okay job covering up the faint bruising along my jawline.
I opened a compact next, the powder bright and shimmering. Bronzer? I feverishly applied it to my cheekbones and moved on to my eyes, swiping neutral color on my lids, then combing out my lashes.
There. Stepping back, I looked in the mirror. Ugh, those brows. They were utterly untamable without Mau. My entire face was. No amount of makeup could hide the bags under my eyes, or the swell of my lip where Freyja had decked me earlier.
Why did I care so much? It’s not like this was a date; it’s not like this was just the two of us. Gunnar was my friend. He had invited me to some kind of get-together. Other people would be there.
I backed away from the counter and headed straight to the armoire, throwing open the doors.
My shoulders curled in relief. I don’t know why, but I was fulling expecting sparkly dresses and frilly blouses. It did have those, including a lacy pajama set I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing, but other than that…
“It’s spelled to have what you need,” Eldi called, as if she knew where I was standing just by the pattern of my footsteps, by the squeal of the rusty metal hinges.
As I riffled through the layers of fabric, I realized I was missing a majorly important detail. “Shit. I forgot to ask him what to wear.”
“Knowing the Eyes”—a log snapped in the hearth—“I’d recommend stylish but practical. They like their posh dinners, but they also have no problem wrestling an arctic yeti after dessert.”
“Noted.” Given that detail, I landed on a pair of ripped black jeans, ankle boots—good for my dagger—an olive silk camisole, and a cropped wool jacket. My hair I swept into a bun.
As I strode through the living area, the trinkets shaking in their glass hutches with the heavy thuds of my heels, a quiet voice floated in the air, stopping me in my tracks.
“Have fun tonight.” The slight sadness to her words was like a stab to the chest.
“I will, Eldi.” I turned towards the fireplace, where her flames were tinged blue. “Thank you.”
The elevator dipped below the glacier, dropping me into what felt like the heart of it. A shudder ran up my spine, the air growing colder the lower I went.
Part of me figured the Eyes would’ve already left by the time the lift stopped—that it was all a joke to begin with, that when the doors parted and the soft light from the passage filled the car, Gunnar wouldn’t be standing there in his dark pants, burgundy coat, matching beanie, back pressed against the wall.
But he was.
My breath clouded in front of me. “You’re here.”
Dropping the heel of his boot from the stone to the floor, he straightened. “You’re early.”
“Oh.” My heart stuttered. Why was it doing that? “I thought I was late.”
“Well, you’re still earlier than I thought you would be.”
“Hey.” I smacked his bicep with a playful backhand, but a cool breeze pulled the smile from my face. “Where does this tunnel lead to?”
He put his hands in his pockets, curling his shoulders for warmth. “The royal driveway.”
Royal. “Is Freyja coming?” The question knotted my stomach, especially as he easily strode forward, shooting me a backwards glance.
