It was a long-sleeved velvety dark blue halter dress that reached down to my ankles. I did not only choose it for its aesthetic and its gorgeous, fluffy cuffs, but also because it wasbackless. It meant that I wouldn’t be staining it with the black plasma oozing from my skin that Amani had to keep wiping.
Amani chose a stunning red dress that covered her neck-to-toe, with the exception of a vertical slit at the centre of her chest that revealed just a glimpse of her inked golden skin.
I parted my hair and wove two braids at each side of my scalp, allowing the rest to trail in soft waves at my front. Amani was applying black ink along her eyelids, which made her striking green eyes pop. She must have caught me staring as she said, “I’ll do your eyes if you do my hair.”
Bargaining runs in the family, I see.
She applied a thin line that went from the inner corner of my eye and trailed slightly out of my lids. Then she applied kohl on the inside of my lower lids.
I returned the favour by weaving four thin braids on each side of her head, then allowed the rest of her hair to spread in wild curls.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered.
“So do you. Aegir’s going to lose his mind when he sees you.”
I couldn’t hide the start of a smile. I enjoyed my day with my as-she-called-mesister, but I still missed my man.
“Oh, and shoes! I think I have a pair that fits. A lady friend of mine had forgotten them here.”
They fit perfectly.
I was looking at myself in the mirror when Amani said, “Here, take this.” She handed me a pink vial.
“What is it?”
“It’s a contraceptive tonic. I don’t use it anymore for obvious reasons. Just take one drop on the first day of every cycle and you’ll be covered. I mean, it’s your choice, of course, but you know, considering all that’s happening.”
What exactly is happening?
I placed it in my small black purse that came with the shoes.
“You’re ready?”
“As ready as I can be.”
Amani linked her arm around mine. “Let’s go.”
My stomach twisted at the thought of me entering that room—it had suddenly become so very, very real.
CHAPTER 77
Amani and I made our way into the grand hall.
At its centre was a towering ice-white statue of almighty Boreas, a trident gripped in his thick hand. On the opposite side—at the hall’s very end—was a giant wooden double door, which I could tell was the location of our meeting.
I swore the air around us turned thick and heavy. It forced my lungs to work twice as hard. My muscles stiffened, causing my pace to lag. Each step I reluctantly dragged felt as if the world’s gravity intensified or the soles of my shoes developed some sticky substance.
Amani must have sensed the drag as she asked, brows furrowed, “Are you all right?” I halted. “You act as if I’m walking you to your death.”
“I—I…” The double door that haunted my peripheral vision appeared so distant yet so close. My chest tightened at the thought of entering that room, the responsibility of it.And what the heck do I know?
“Elara?”
“I…can’t…breathe,” I managed to choke out.
“All right, all right, everything’s all right, it’s all good, let’s…let’s sit you down!” I normally got the urge to run as fast as Amani’s hurried words, but I knew that I had no escape from this one. So I let her help me walk towards one of the marbled side benches and accepted her arms as she sat me down.
She looked at me with concerned eyes. “Let me go get—” I heard a faint click in the background and then I heard his voice.
