Page 44

Alina

“THERE. TAKE A LOOK, YOUR Highness.”

Ms. Fairhaven lowers her fluffy makeup brush and takes a step back, allowing me my first glimpse into the vanity mirror.

I catch my breath.

Ms. Fairhaven has been doing my hair and makeup for these events for years. Typically, we opt for soft, subtle colors: a bit of rouge on the cheeks, a subtle gloss on the lips. But tonight, she’s turned me into a masterpiece of blues and grays and twinkling silvers. My eyelids are painted in shades of charcoal and smoke, my lashes bold and dark. My cheeks are tinted pink, and my lips are a glossy crimson.

She’s pulled my hair back into a half-up, half-down style, and I tingle with anticipation as I turn my head slightly to admire the claiming mark adorning the side of my throat. Ms. Fairhaven didn’t try to hide it. She knows how much this mark—my bond—means to me .

Behind me, Yuki jumps off the bed and pads across the floor on quiet paws. He takes a seat at my feet and tips his head. “You look...” He tips his head the other way, gaze considering. “Like a woman.”

I can’t help but to let out a sudden laugh. “Ugh, why do you have to say it like that?” Reaching down, I trail a hand over his head, then scratch him gently behind one ear. “But thank you.” My gaze flicks to Ms. Fairhaven, and I reach out to place a hand on her arm. “And thank you too.” I take a deep breath and glance into the mirror. “You really think this is okay? It’ll certainly make a statement.”

My lady-in-waiting finishes putting her brushes and palettes away, then turns to regard me. Her smile is soft, her cheeks pink from the warmth in my bedchamber. “I think it’s lovely.” Her gaze flicks to the scar on my neck. “You’re not the same girl who left here. You’re a woman now, Your Highness.” She tips her head, her smile turning playful. “And women get to have all the fun.”

“See?” Yuki says. “I told you.”

With a roll of my eyes, I look at myself in the mirror once more, my fingers inching up to touch the mark on my throat. It’s in the shape of Raelan’s jaws, a perfect oval where his fangs pierced me. Even now, when I recall that night, the scar tingles with warmth. I wonder if he can feel it, wherever he is on the grounds right now.

I know his mother and sisters are coming today; he was so excited to see them. It’s precious how much love he has for them.

“One more thing,” Ms. Fairhaven says. She walks away, disappearing into my closet, then returns a moment later with a jewelry box clasped in her hands. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity for you to wear this. And I think tonight is the night.”

She opens the jewelry box with a click, then pulls out a gleaming silver necklace. Stepping behind me, she says, “Lift your hair,” then proceeds to clasp the necklace about my throat.

It’s tight, a choker more than anything else, and the glittering blue and silver gemstones draw even more attention to my new scar. I lift my fingers to trace them along the metal, a surge of excitement rising inside me.

“Well?” Ms. Fairhaven regards me in the mirror. “What do you think?”

I meet my smoky-eyed gaze in the mirror and get a tremble of anticipation at the thought of Raelan seeing me like this. “It’s perfect.”

Theres a gentle knock on the door in the sitting room, and Ms. Fairhaven goes to answer it. After a short conversation, she returns to me and says, “It seems some young ladies are here to see you. Shall I—”

“Yes!” I push to my feet and hurriedly pad across my bedchamber and through the doorway into the sitting room, Yuki right behind me. I haven’t seen the girls since our first semester ended, but they all accepted my invitation to the ball, and I’ve been waiting anxiously for them to arrive.

Grasping the door handle, I pull it open to find a maid standing there, my three roommates gathered behind her.

As soon as Lyra sees me, she announces, “Goddess, Alina! You look...” Her crimson eyes sweep up and down the length of my body, and she arches a brow. “Well, I was going to say sexy, but”—she points at my hastily tied robe—“what’s that?”

I laugh and wave them in after me. “I was just about to get dressed.” They trail into the sitting room, dresses swishing about their legs, and I call back to the maid, “Could we please have some tea? And some cakes if the kitchen can spare them?”

The young woman curtsies, then gives me a smile. “Of course, Your Highness.”

I quickly introduce my roommates to Ms. Fairhaven, who then waves for me to return to my bedchamber.

“Time to get dressed,” she says, and I swear there’s a twinkle in her eye as she leads me into the room and closes the door behind me.

WHEN I STEP BACK INTO the sitting room twenty minutes later, I find Lyra, Maeve, and Poppy sipping tea from hand-painted teacups and trying not to get crumbs on their beautiful Yule dresses. I have a shawl draped over my shoulders and hold it tight over my dress. Their eyes all turn to me.

“Ready to see it?” I ask, a twinge of nervousness going through me. From far off, somewhere on the castle grounds, Raelan sends a hint of curiosity through our bond. Knowing he’s always with me like this, always connected to me, brings me deep comfort.

With our bond, I’m never truly alone. He’s here with me, whenever I need him.

Lyra groans. “Gods, yes. Let us see. ”

Maeve and Poppy stand from the couch, and they all look at me expectantly.

“Okay. Here goes.”

Slipping the shawl from my shoulders, I let the light material ripple to the floor. And three pairs of eyes go wide.

The dress Ms. Fairhaven picked for the occasion is unlike anything I’ve worn before. It clings to me like a second skin, the material so soft I feel I could tear it simply by taking too deep a breath. But when Ms. Fairhaven was helping me into it, tugging it up over my hips, it held firm, much stronger than it appears—like perhaps its enchanted with magic. It’s the color of smoky quartz, bejeweled along the plunging neckline with little shimmering crystals, and the skirt is gauzy and soft, with a slit up one side that reveals my leg and the heels my lady-in-waiting selected for me.

My roommates are momentarily speechless.

They blink. Then blink again.

Yuki lets out a soft whine.

I bite my lip and ask, “Well? Is it too much?”

Maeve’s lips, which are painted dark purple to match her hair and eyes, quirk up on one side. “I mean, is your goal to actually kill Raelan tonight?”

“Of course not,” Poppy says from beside her. She reaches up to tuck a short strand of lavender hair behind her ear. “She just means to give him a little death.”

Lyra, Maeve, and I exchange surprised glances, then stare at Poppy.

Then Lyra cants her head and says, “Poppy Waverly, did you just make a sex joke ? ”

Poppy’s light brown cheeks flare bright pink, and we all burst into laughter—along with Ms. Fairhaven. Yuki shakes his head like he wishes he could unhear that.

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” Maeve says as she dabs a tear from her kohl-lined eyed.

“I have to be there to see his reaction when he first sees you.” Lyra glances at Poppy and Maeve. “I think we all do.”

I cross the firelit room to stand with them, pausing along the way to pour myself a cup of dragon-fruit tea. “Well, the ball starts in”—I glance at the clock above the mantel—“about an hour. Think you can wait until then?”

“Hmm. Depends.” Lyra holds up a tiny plate dotted in crumbs. “Think we can get any more of those cakes while we wait?”

My lips tug into a smile, and I roll my eyes. “Yes, dear Lyra. I think that can be arranged.”