Page 94 of Nocturn

Soft, smooth fabric settled over my skin. Quality silk. Something I had never been afforded the privilege of wearing.

“Why must I be fitted in this?”

She yanked at the bottom of the dress, spreading it out at the hem as she made her way around me. Ruffled sleeves settled near my shoulders, swooping outward.

“His Highness wanted you dressed in something fit for the body that would belong to his bondmate.” Her voice took on a lower register. She stepped behind me and tightened the corset. “If it were up to me, I would not have you make an appearance.”

“Lady Drusilla,” Hester’s voice came from near the entrance on the other side of the barrier. “I have finished my visit with Al⁠—”

“I am coming,” she interrupted abruptly, releasing the sash at my back and leaving.

She had scurried away. And the manner she interrupted Hester was incredibly suspicious . . . I gripped the bottom of my gown and inched to the edge of the wooden slat to peek around it.

Hester held a white cloth to the side of her arm . . . cloths I had certainly seen at Al’s.

She had received an injection?

Tabby said redbloods were being injected, not bluebloods. What could they possibly be putting inside these girls?

Vera tugged my arm.

“She does not like when others watch her healing,” she murmured only for my ears. “Anyhow, we should focus on the ball tomorrow! I look forward to it every annum.” She continued rattling on as I followed her—numb from the revelation. The Solstice Ball was tomorrow. So soon . . .

I waited until she finished arranging my gown around me to ask my question.

“What do they inject you with?”

She shrugged. “No idea. It is part of the feeder life.”

She smiled and stepped back to take in my dress. I could not admire the beautiful fabric.

Did Lady Drusilla know what was being injected, or was she just another pawn? Another woman obsessed with Cassiel and, because of that, doing what she must because it meant she would be close to him?

She had to know something more. Someone with her access and control had to.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Ball

Itrailed behind the rest of the feeders. All beautifully dressed as we strode through the masses of high society.

A perfect little harem. I gritted my teeth.

We were late arrivals, coming in behind Cassiel. He strode at the front, leading the path. This was the first time I had seen him in a dawnlight rotation. He had left me with the feeders for the night.

I hated how much I missed him.

Awed looks followed him the entire way as he made his way to the throne upon the platform.

A server passed, and I noted the fancy pastries that were much too sweet. We strode in a perfect line among the chattering. All the feeders kept their heads up, pride in the line of their shoulders. Faces blurred past, so many with powdered skin, rouge to stain, and coal to enhance the eyes, particularly in women.

Sounds of trumpets combined with violins and a piano created a harmony. Before the platform arranged for the musicians, the gathered nobility began a quadrille. They moved in a structured dance where various groups of two couples fell into practiced and fluid movements.

Solstice, the celebration of life and the living. Energy ran high. The eve where dawnlight remained shining across the realm. It was a time of merriment. The Bjorn family always attended the small celebration Lord Clair had at this time of the annum rotation.

It was opposite of Nocturn, which happened less frequently. Nocturn was a moment of quiet. A stillness.

It looms a mere fortnight away.