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“I love it,” Magda said as she admired her appearance with a handheld mirror.

Jasmine smiled. “You could be a princess.”

Odie let out a bark at her side.

Magda couldn’t help but smile, for this moment reminded her of Urszula and Dagmara, choosing her coronation dress with her mother. The thoughts made her heart yearn to be back in Azurem. She knew she was running out of time—and getting to the palace was her first priority.

Ravi stepped forward from his spot against the wall, coming up behind Magda. “You look beautiful,” he said. She caught Ravi’s eyes in the mirror while he stood behind her, getting lost in them. She still had no idea why he was helping her this much. Why did he care about saving her dog, or going to a ball? He said he had his own reasons…but what were they? It was clear they were both still keeping secrets from each other.

Prisha let out a loud sigh.

Ravi broke his gaze from Magda’s and stepped away, embarrassed.

“Let me help you get out of that,” offered Jasmine.

“Thank you,” said Magda. She stepped down from the podium before heading behind a small curtain and changing back into her normal clothes.

When she was finished, she handed Jasmine a few coins to pay for the dress and alterations.

“You can come pick this up the morning of the ball,” Jasmine said, “I’m sure it will look beautiful on you.”

“Thank you,” said Magda.

“It was so great to meet you!” Prisha jumped up and hugged Magda. “This is the best day ever!”

CHAPTER 41

Dagmara

Just when Dagmara returned to the table, flashing a smile at the two unsuspecting men, the bell tolled outside. She jolted upright and peered out the window, seeing a massive group of men—and only some women—had gathered in front of the steeple. There were nearly fifty of them. All the men were shirtless, and the women wore trousers. On the third chime of the bell, the crowd let out a mighty roar and took off down the hill to the exit of the city at the front gates.

“What is going on?” Dagmara asked.

Claude leaned closer to her in his chair, getting a better view of the street below. “Ah,” Claude laughed, “I remember that game.”

Lionel smiled. “Soulaye.”

“What is that?” Dagmara asked.

“A sport.”

Dagmara’s eyes lit up. She used to love playing sports with Aleksy before her health worsened. “With fifty people? How do you play?”

“More than fifty,” Sabien said. He approached the table, peering out the window. His proximity made Dagmara’s stomach curl.

Claude spoke again, barely giving Sabien a nod of greeting, “I’m sure Sailonne is playing against…Lousevve?”

“Correct,” Lionel replied.

Claude continued, “The goal of the game is to bring the ball back to the city’s steeple. Someone places a ball directly between the city centers, and on the third chime, it’s a race to see who gets there first.”

“That’s it?”

A breathless laugh escaped his lips. “It’s not easy. There are no rules, and it can get pretty violent. My father and I used to join, and the game would go on for hours.”

“Sounds like fun.” More fun than discussing taxes.

“It was.”