“You are divine!” Elva squealed, clapping her nails together, mauve-stained mouth wide with delight. She circled me like a cat, trailing one finger down my bare spine; my back arched at the tickle. “Scandalous,” she teased. The sorrow from earlier was gone, not a trace left. “Seriously, V, you should dress up more often.”
I glanced at the mirror again, this time with her beside me. Where my gown was fitting more like a serpent’s skin than fabric, sleek and dangerous, cut from midnight itself, hers sang of royalty.
Ivory satin corseted her torso, gold lace draped thick across her breasts before sliding off her shoulders and pooling on the floor.
Waves tumbled loose down her back, the top swathed by a delicate lattice settling over her hair like a crown made of constraint. Ivory beads dripped down over half of her face, framing her beauty even as it hid it.
An ornament meant to silence, to protect, to suffocate.
And fates curse me, how I hated that she needed to wear it at all.
It was tradition, she had said the first time I ever saw her in it. For the Luamis heir to shield their beauty, their brilliance, from their court until they took the throne.
To me, it was only another cage made pretty.
I tipped my chin, angling my shoulder as I caught another glimpse of the back of the gown. Hips tilted, ass pushed out—my reflection smug.
Okay, maybe all those squats were good for something after all.
“And what exactly am I dressing up for?” I muttered, silently thanking the Gods Elva had at least let me wear flats.
Floral and vanilla swirled as she drifted past, her fingers curling one of my wayward strands. She clicked her tongue at the mess of a bun Tessi had finally surrendered to—low, loose, unpolished. It would have to do.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she mused, mischief sparking as she pinched my ass. I yelped, swiping at her hand while she laughed. “No one makes fighting leathers look as good as you. But sometimes it’s nice to step into a skin we don’t usually wear.”
I shifted, silk sliding like temptation down my side. This fabric was enough to seduce the dark itself.
My brow arched. “Shall I fetch my leathers for you to wear to the ball, then?”
“One day you can parade me through Selvarra in nothing but fighting leathers,” she promised. Her hand batted mine away as I tried to smudge the crimson staining my own lips. “But, not tonight.”
After kissing my cheek through her veil, she swept toward the door, where Fritz stood waiting, arms crossed, eyes already bored of our chatter.
He bowed low as she approached, gaze softening when he rose. “You look just like your mother, princess.”
The smile she offered trembled into brightness, throat bobbing as she swallowed down the honor of it.
Her arm slipped through his without hesitation, tossing me one last look over her shoulder. “You’re a dream, Verena. Own it.”
I dragged my palms down my bodice, fabric melting under my fingers as soft and heady as the rose clinging to Elva’s skin.
Movement prowled lazily, purring low, scales rasping the bars like the thing inside me could taste what wrapped us.
Not a weapon. Not a haunt. Tonight, I would be someone else entirely. I would be the woman drowning in silken dreams, instead of nightmares.
At least for a few hours.
The ballroom was painted a picture of prosperity masquerading as love.
A deception, a lie, framed in gold and roses.
A grand staircase poured into the hall in a river of marble, and down it glided the king and queen, their hands twined for show. The queen only appeared on occasion—ceremonies, obligations, things that demanded her presence. And each time, she looked…dimmer. As if something inside her was being taken, piece by piece. There was no glow. No radiance. Nothing of the light she was meant to embody. And I think…she felt that too.
Behind them, Perseus and Elvira descended, the prince arrogant in his armor of charm, Elva luminous enough to draw every breath from the room.
Crystal chandeliers hung overhead, their shards splintering light across mirrored walls and glass panes. Outside, the sun had surrendered to the moon, its crescent glow sneaking through this cathedral built from ruse.
My feet ached from hours of twirling, the music playing endlessly, stitched through with laughter and sloshing wine. I danced with strangers, with friends, with faces I barely remembered, moving as though I belonged.
