With a frown, Lory considered the pink monstrosity. “Why am I getting the impression you’re enjoying this?”
Anees shrugged. “Perhaps because I haven’t been allowed to play dress up since my thornling days.” She paused, thinking. “At least, notthissort of dress up.”
“Do I even want to know?” Lory took the pink dress and hung it back on the rack.
The expression on Lory’s face brought forth a giggle from Anees. “For missions, Lory. Not for the depraved thingsyouare talking about.” A wink. “After what I witnessed at Lu’Shen’s, who knows what you and Khayrivven are into?”
Lory rolled her eyes. “No idea what you think you saw, but that dress was the madame’s choice, not mine.”
“But Khaylovedit. Didn’t he?”
So much he tore it off Lory’s body, he did. But Lory didn’t tell Anees that.
“If you’re trying to be funny, it’s not working. There is nothing going on between Captain Falcrest and me.” It was still the official story.
Anees pursed her lips in a way that made clear she didn’t believe a word Lory was saying. “You don’t need to pretend with me, Vednis. I’ve known Khay for years now. I can tell when he’s interested in someone. And I can tell when he’s head over heels, too.”
Lory wasn’t prepared for the impact Anees’s words had on her heartbeat, grabbing for the side of the dresser sitting against the wall beside the rack.
“He’s nothead over heels.” Lory inhaled deeply, watching the amusement spread on Anees’s face.
“You’re right.” The nod Anees amended hollowed out Lory’s stomach. “Khayrivven Falcrest doesn’t fall head over heels for anyone.” She pulled a yellow chiffon dress from the rack, holding it up under Lory’s chin. “He doesn’tfallin general.” She wiggled the butter-yellow fabric, watching the folds sway over Lory’s front, then shook her head, returning the dress to the rack and picking out a purple one instead. “He cares enough for you to put his entire future in jeopardy and the life of the one person he swore to protect. All his efforts toward—” She broke off, biting her lower lip in an effort to keep the words in. “Well, he does care for you.”
“So you know?” Lory raised a brow, putting on her best stern face as she stared Anees down. “About?—”
“About why he’s so eager to take any mission that leads him to Ulder’s palace? Of course I know.”
Why the fact that Anees seemed to know more about Khayrivven than he was willing to share with Lory bothered her so much, she couldn’t tell. Maybe it was the ease of their interaction, the way they shared a history Lory wasn’t privy to.
“How long have you known him?”
“A few years. He’d just joined Ashthorn when I started as an ashling.” She studied the purple dress with expert eyes, then shoved it into Lory’s hands. “Put this on.” Gesturing at a privacy screen made of leather strapped over a wooden frame, she ushered Lory along. “It’s a miracle he and I didn’t kill each other in training. He was the only one who beat me at Veiled and Steel.”
“Not at Gilded?” Lory prompted, stripping out of her uniform behind the screen and draping the fabrics over the backrest of the simple chair by the wall. She’d showered after the quick trip to the desert with Khayrivven, rinsed off the soot and sweat and the stench of death. The scent of lemon zest and wild blossoms felt like a mockery of what she’d learned this morning.
Ashthorn is a lie.They killed ashlings they suspected of fraternizing with the rebels, keeping their graces with the influential families of the kingdom by putting a simple school rule up as a justification. Death for tardiness was, in reality, death forsuspectedtreason. Not even theproofof treason. A cruel way of censoring a new generation’s beliefs and hopes. Of keeping a reign of tyranny in place. Magic wielders were a threat to Ulder in general, but none of them worse than thefire wielders Khayrivven’s father had prophesied would bring down the Brestolyan king’s rule.
So much was wrong with this that Lory couldn’t even find words.
“Gilded is Hadrian’s resort,” Anees said, her tone part humorous, part serious. “And mine. My parents made sure of that when they brought a governess to my childhood home to drill court manners and formalities into me.”
Lory was about to ask what she meant, but Anees was more free-giving with her stories than Khayrivven.
“From the age of five, I spent most of my days learning how to speak, walk, dance, sit, eat, sing, and be silent like a lady. The rest of my days, I learned how to sneak around the house to escape my governess. That’s why I’m exceptional at Veiled.”
Lory slipped the purple fabric over her head, shoving her arms through the inch-wide straps and letting the silks slide down her body. The luxurious feel of a million soft fingertips caressing her skin made her breath catch.
“What’s wrong?” Anees prompted, popping her head around the screen and slapping her hands over her heart. “Stunning—at least it will be once you’re laced in and we do something with that wild mop atop your head.” She gestured at the messy bun Lory had tied high up at the back of her head, which was trying to escape its bonds.
Without a warning, Anees stepped behind Lory, tugging on the strings at the back of the bodice while Lory watched the unshapely purple fabrics transform into a form-fitting thing of princess dreams.
Thin golden lines crept from the straps to her waist, forming a V that complemented the plunging neckline. At her hips, a layer of flower petals adorned the top of a chiffon overskirt, open at the front to reveal a simple, satin A-line skirt underneath. Embroidered ornamentations seamed the length of the gaping overskirt, the heavier parts of the fabric making it sway with every movement.
When Lory noticed the flower petals at the straps, she was convinced they hadn’t been there a moment ago, and when they cinched right above her breasts, forming an inverted V toward the tops of her shoulders, Lory recognized the magic at work.
“Matter manipulation,” Anees told her with a shrug. “It might not be the most useful of gifts when it comes to combat, but at least I can morph plain dresses into pretty ones.” A self-deprecating chuckle followed. “Or mend uniforms after battle. Some would call it adomesticmagic, but I’d like to believe it’s a Veiled gift. I can change the color of textiles in the blink of an eye and add details of temporary matter.” She gestured at the flower petals at Lory’s shoulders and hips, her fingers brushing the adornments with an almost loving gesture. “They won’t last longer than a few hours, but that’s enough for you to dazzle Ulder’s court—among others,” she amended with a wink, stepping around Lory to admire her handiwork.
Lory looked down the length of her body, full of awe as the purple of the dress shifted into a slightly lighter tone, more like the blossoms of the potted tree across the room.
