It slipped out before I could stop myself. “Why did you give up on training me?”
“I didn’t give up on training you. I told you I needed to reassess some things, and I have been dealing with our upcoming guests.”
“So I didn’t… I don’t know… freak you out? Ruin your grand plans for me? Make it not worth it?”
“By having a panic attack?”
I nodded slowly.
His eyes softened, and he pressed his lips together. “Well, you must truly hate me if you think that.”
“I—” I froze, unsure of how to respond. There were a lot of reasons to hate him, but my mind was having a hard time reconciling those reasons with the few reasons… not to.
“It doesn’t matter; we will resume your training after the ball, which, as a reminder, you are not to attend.”
“Alandris, I—”
“You’re dismissed.”
I turned on my heel and left, feeling significantly more perplexed and irritated than before our conversation. It had gone about as well as expected. Alandris was nothing if not an enigma of hot and cold and words that never matched his expressions. Of course, I had been the one to prod him. I wouldn’t be making that mistake again.
I contemplated my options for the ball on my walk back to my room. There was zero chance I wasn’t attending in some capacity. With everyone gathered in one place, there was no better opportunity to collect information on Alandris and the Consortium. I would hide under a table for the duration of the event if that was what it took to eavesdrop. Luckily for me, I had one of the cleverest Mages on my side. If anyone had a solution, it would be her.
Elle already had her nose buried in a book by the time I returned. She peeked up over the top of it when I entered, curiosity swimming in her eyes.
“What are your thoughts on a bit of mischief?”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “I do my best plotting in a warm bath with a hot cup of tea.”
“Shall we?”
According to Elle, mint stimulated the mind. Sipping on mint tea and submerging ourselves in a mint and lavender-infused bath, we began to hammer out our plan.
“You could disguise yourself,” she offered as her first idea. “There are plants we can use to dye your hair. Since it’s white, itshould take the pigment fairly well. If you’re willing to go so far, we could cut it, too. It’s down to your butt. Isn’t that a pain?”
I’d never cut or dyed my hair. It had been a taboo in my village.To protect her sanctity, we shall not alter the Saintess’s body. I’d long since stopped following their tenants, but I’d never deliberately broken any. It should have felt freeing, being presented with the opportunity to reclaim my autonomy, but instead, it felt wrong. This wasn’t the way I wanted to rebel against my upbringing.
“I am sort of attached to my hair. Any other ideas?”
“We have two weeks, right?” She sunk down into the water to her shoulders. “We could seek out a simple enchantment. There are necklaces, rings, diadems even, that can make it difficult for people to remember your image. They will see you as you are in the moment, but when they try to recall the way you looked, it will be fuzzy. So long as you avoid Alandris, and get away as fast as you can if you see him, it should work. If these guests are as important as he claims, their presence will likely keep him too occupied to search the room for you.”
That could work. There was only one issue—gold. My time on the Phoenix Heart had earned me a decent sum, but not enough to purchase something like that. “Don’t enchanted items tend to be incredibly rare and highly expensive?”
“I know a guy, and he owes me a favor.”
“Elle, you are kind of terrifying.”
She giggled. “He won’t give it to us. It would be an arrangement to borrow it for the night.”
I paused, narrowing my eyes at her. “Wait. You knew someone who had something like this, and you still suggested I cut and dye my hair?”
“I love a wonderful transformation.”
It was a good thing she was so likable. I grinned. “Why don’t you pick out my dress, then? I don’t have a penchant for fashion.”
The way her eyes lit up, I knew I had just made either the best or worst mistake of my life.
“Two days from now when we have a couple of days’ break with no lessons, you and I are going into Val’Naeris. There is a dressmaker there named Alessnae. She creates literal fabric masterpieces with her hands. If you want a dress, you want her.”
