Drats and damnation. “Nia, I can explain?—”
“I don’t want to hear more lies. I want the truth.”
“The truth is, I did go for a walk…to The Divide.”
“Heavens, Kerris, it’s one thing to venture there with your friends by your side, and another thing entirely to go to that cursed place without an escort. The Unseelie are killers, every last one of them. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“You’re wrong about them.” Everyone is wrong.
“Keep your voice down,” she hisses. “There’s no telling what will happen if you wake my parents.”
She’s right. I’m lucky my cousin was the one who discovered my secret and not my aunt or uncle.This is a good thing, I tell myself. A chance to quell her ignorance. “The Unseelie only kill to feed themselves—and to protect us. That bridge? They guard it every night so that the wolves and whatever other monsters prowl their land don’t cross into Rosehill. They keep us safe.” Without Ever and his people, there’s no telling what sort of beasts would have infiltrated the city, and all anyone on this side does is spread hate about them.
“That doesn’t change the fact that if anyone finds out you were with one, your reputation will be ruined beyond repair. You’ve already spurned the prince. Do not alienate yourself further by aligning yourself with one of them.”
I think of Ever’s hands on my body. The way his breath tangled with mine. The press of his lips to my skin. He is the only man who has ever made me feel this way, and all Nia cares about is my bloomin’ reputation.
Swallowing my truth, I tell the biggest lie of all: “We’re only friends. Nothing more.”
Although her eyes narrow, she must not feel like arguing because she bobs her head and says, “See that it stays that way.”
* * *
This morning, Nia’s eyes feel as if they’re burning a hole through my skull. I offer to do the dishes after breakfast to avoid having a conversation. That only gives me a brief reprieve, because when I finish, Nia sweeps into the room holding a box from Madame Ella’s, her eyes narrowed into slits and a stern set to her jaw.
She shoves the dress at my chest, forcing me to take it. “This arrived for you this morning. Try it on.”
“I will later.” When she isn’t in a strop.
“Do it now so that we can take it back if it doesn’t fit. We need to collect our dresses for the festival.”
Fine. I’ll try it on to appease her. Hopefully a walk into town will brighten her sour mood.
I bring the gown upstairs to where the others I’ve yet to alter sit in a stack beside my wardrobe. Sure enough, the skirt on this one is too long as well. What’s going on?
Nia enters my room without knocking, wearing a buttery yellow dress and a frown. “Madame Ella must be sending you someone else’s dresses.”
“I know.” The first dress she sent was tailored to perfection, but all the others have been too big. I return the dress to the box and grab two of the others I’ve yet to alter. If she wants the rest of them back, I’ll bring them another time.
With the parcels split between us, Nia and I make our way to Market Square. The sun warms my face and the air swirls with the delicious smells of spring and sugar.
Nia walks at a clip, seeming content to ignore me.
I despise the tension between us but don’t know how to make it better. She will forgive me for sneaking around behind her back eventually, right? She must.
If only she could see what I see.
If Ever didn’t have that hunt, I’d bring her with me across the bridge tonight. Perhaps when he returns, I’ll introduce them…whenever that may be.
When we reach Madame Ella’s shop, the place is as empty as it was the day I first arrived in Rosehill. The only sounds are our slippers on the marble floor and the hum of a sewing machine.
Nia and I set the boxes on the countertop next to the till, and Nia presses the bell.
The hum stops, followed by the click of heels. Madame Ella appears from behind a curtain, her cherry hair loose around her shoulders. “Welcome, welcome. So good to see you both again.”
At least someone is happy to see me today.
“Your Beltane gowns are finally finished and, Kerris, I have three of your mother’s dresses altered. Give me a moment to pack them up—” Her gaze falls to the boxes we brought, and her brow furrows. “Was there something wrong with the dress I sent?”
