I winced but couldn’t let go of the fabric. “Well, she pulled it off.”
Lily turned to Liza. “And for you”—she flung open the closet—“a little something as well. Also from Wanda.”
Inside the closet hung a much smaller dress in a shade of dusty pink that reminded me of blooming roses. It had a slightly flared skirt, and when I pictured Liza slipping into it, I imagined her looking like a delicate ballerina.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Lily had thought of Liza; in a way, each of us were so intimately familiar with isolation and loneliness, that coming together to form our own small herdout of necessity made sense. We were a group of loners who could finally trust one another. On paper, friendships sounded easy. In reality, good ones were so hard to find.
“Wow,” Liza gasped. It was the only word she seemed able to manage, and I didn’t blame her one bit. She swallowed hard. “This is amazing. I’m afraid I’ll wreck it.”
“So what?” Lily shrugged. “It’s yours. Yours to do whatever you like with. But first, I’m going to have Millie get you set up with a lush bath. You’re going to love it. We have all the soaps, bubbles, a huge soaking tub—pure luxury.”
As if on cue, Millie appeared in the doorway and, with a bright smile, beckoned for Liza to follow her. Liza skipped out of the room, and the two disappeared into another chamber of the castle. I turned to Lily and thanked her for thinking about Liza.
“Of course,” Lily said, her smile softening. “I see how much she means to you. And…” Lily reached out, squeezed my arm. “You mean a lot to her, too.”
I could only nod.
“Now for you.” Lily moved her hands to my shoulders and steered me toward a chair before the mirror. “Sit down, my dear. I’m no makeup artist, but I’ve been practicing in my spare time.”
“Your spare time?” I eased into the chair before the lit mirror, a whole old-fashioned, Hollywood setup. “How do you have spare time?”
“I had five minutes before you arrived, and that’s going to have to be good enough,” Lily said with a grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t overdo the eye shadow. You’re so pretty as is, you don’t need anything, really. This is just for fun.”
I sat back and listened as Lily chattered, starting the process of applying my makeup. Brushes skittered against my face, foundations were rubbed into my skin. All the while, Lily talked about makeup, her marriage, her potions. She brought up Chuck the Gnome and Gus, and all of the customers who visited herstore with wild requests. We laughed, she dusted, I sat still and felt grateful.
Then when Lily ran out of steam, she started asking me questions. About New York, the mainland, what it had been like to live with such ritzy parents. She wondered what Simon had been like, and quickly declared she didn’t need to know any more about “that idiot.”
The time flew by, and as she wrapped up my hair and makeup, I was amazed by how many topics we had covered as she painted my lips a pale pink and darkened my eyes with a touch of kohl. She swiped on a finishing spray of mascara, then moved to complete my updo, tying my hair back in a low, curly knot at the nape of my neck.
Finally, she declared me done and ready for the dress. After slipping into the beige gown, Lily fussed about with the fabric and ties until she was satisfied. When she was finished, she stepped back and sucked in a breath.
“I’d marry you if I wasn’t already in a very happy marriage,” Lily said with a wide grin. “You look stunning. My friend, you look like the queen you are.”
I turned to face the mirror, but before I could swivel, Lily stopped me with both hands and told me to wait. Startled at her outburst, I froze. Lily hurried over to the dresser and lifted the small crown that had been waiting there, the signet that had originated from my ring. As she nestled it into my carefully styled hair, I watched tears pool in her eyes.
“I can’t believe it’s real,” Lily said softly. “I didn’t even know anything about Fae Queens when I arrived. I haven’t been here all that long in the grand scheme of things, so like you, I lack a lot of the context and history. So I can imagine if it’s emotional even for someone newer like me, how emotional this is for the rest of the island. It’s really a special moment, Alessia.You’respecial.”
My breath felt trapped in my chest. I couldn’t think of a response at all, so I stayed quiet, absorbing the moment fully. When I finally got the courage to turn and face the mirror, I realized Lily was right about one thing: I did look like a queen. Like it or not, I finally looked the part.
My shoulders and face were tanned from days spent in the sun with Seer Goddard. I was more slender than usual, still from the stress and the training, and the dress hung off me in gentle waves, cascading to the floor and pooling at my feet like a river. When I moved, it moved with me—silky, soft, cool to the touch. I could feel the magic in it, like maybe this fabric could absorb starlight and twinkle under a full moon.
It was a dress fit for a queen, and I was finally coming to terms with the fact that I was one.
“Thank you,” I said, turning to Lily, overwhelmed with gratitude. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. It’s all perfect. It’s wonderful.”
Lily blinked, a tear sliding down her cheek, and pulled me into a hug. Then she wiped her face and warned, “Don’t you dare cry and ruin that makeup. I’ll do it for you.”
She laughed. I laughed. And we laughed until we separated because there wasn’t much else to do, unless we both wanted to cry.
At the sound of laughter, Silas entered the room, apparently having decided it was now safe to enter. Lily whispered something I didn’t quite catch and slipped out, as if she sensed the two of us needed a moment alone.
Silas stopped in the doorway, staring. He went perfectly still, his hand halfway to his chest. He looked almost stern, so serious, as he took me in with his chocolate eyes.
“Alessia,” he said, and it was a hush and a rush all at once. His voice sounded hoarse and dry, like he hadn’t used it in ages.Like it was an old tool he’d unearthed from a cellar, and it was grinding to life at the sight of me. “My God. You look stunning.”
“Thank you, Silas.”
At the sound of my voice, Silas seemed to realize he’d completely stopped moving. He blinked and stepped forward, resting his large hands on my shoulders. His thumbs brushed my skin, then trailed down my arms, sending goosebumps racing across my body. Even the gentlest touch from him could turn my stomach inside out.
