Page 50 of Daughter of the Dark

A set of stairs on either side of the room led to the second floor of separate wings, and straight ahead were the ornate double doors to the throne room where Solana had been offered the opportunity that changed her life.

Reyes turned to her and opened his mouth to say something when those doors creaked open. “Ah, you’re here!” King Killian bellowed, arms spread wide, clad in blue and silver, as usual, his bright eyes glittering with something dark despite the smile on his face. “Just in time to get yourselves cleaned up for the night. Can’t have my hunters going missing.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” Reyes said, bowing slightly. Solana did not bow, but no one noticed. “I was helping Solana harness her gift and we lost track of time.”

“I’m glad you two are getting along.” The king clapped him on the shoulder, the gesture possessive, the rings on his fingers shining distractingly in the generous light. “I suppose anything is possible with enough incentive,” he said jovially. Then he turned that smile on her. “Cora has a dress for you. Don’t want to keep her waiting.”

With a flourish, he pulled Reyes to his side and walked past. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Reyes turned back to the king, his entire countenance shifting from friend to Master once again. Solana watched them go, glad for the excuse to take her leave but wary of the king’s comment.

Anything is possible with enough incentive. It seemed that everything he said had double meaning. Was he suggesting that Solana had needed incentive to find her gift, or that Reyes had been given incentive to befriend her?

Solana stomped toward the stairs and up. If Reyes had been bribed, she wondered what he had been offered. What sum of money would be enough to deal with the likes of her, someone he made no secret of disliking from the very first day they had met? She was a fool to believe that an opinion could change so drastically in a few short weeks. That he could possibly even like her.

“There you are.” Cora came down the hall toward her in a flurry of berry-colored silk and chiffon. It was perfection against her golden skin. “I didn’t realize you two would be gone overnight.”

The memory of waking with her head in Reyes’s lap made Solana’s cheeks flush. “We ran into some trouble,” she said vaguely.

The door to her room opened easily under her touch, and Cora followed her in. “What do you mean by trouble?” Cora asked, eyebrows raised.

Solana couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re insufferable,” she said teasingly. “King Killian said you have a dress for me?”

“I’m letting you change the subject for now, let that be clear.” Cora turned and scooped up the dress from Solana’s bed. She held it up to her body and smiled. “It’s the perfect color.”

Solana had to agree. It was a deep emerald that had a bluish tint whenever it shifted. The neckline was low and bordered with silver thread that matched the cuffs of the long sleeves. They came to a point at the end with what looked like a loop that was meant to slip over her finger. The best part of the dress was the bits of silver splashed onto the hem like stars in a night sky. It was entirely impractical and utterly stunning.

It was something Solana had dreamed of wearing as a small girl. Something she never thought she would have the opportunity to wear again. She wasn’t foolish enough to refuse it. This was one night, a limited offer. Not wearing the dress wouldn’t diffuse her guilt, even if Sami’s words joined the echo of the king’s. She hadn’t abandoned her people so that she could dine at the king’s table. She hadn’t abandoned her people, period.

That’s what she reminded herself of as she slipped it on, as Cora arranged her hair into braids and curls that swayed down her back and swiped color over her cheeks, eyelids, and lips. Just enough to give her a flush of life.

Solana still recognized herself when she looked in the mirror, but she was transformed. Consistent meals had given her soft curves where before there were angles. Her hair looked shinier and thicker despite her minimal efforts in maintaining it, and her eyes weren’t shadowed like they had always been. She looked alive, healthy.

Like the blood flowing beneath her skin could save lives.

Reyes had been right—it wasn’t the dagger, after all. She was surprised that he hadn’t taken the time to gloat, but the night was still young. Perhaps he had needed to run and tell the king all he knew, first.

“What do you think?” Cora asked from over her shoulder.

Solana pushed Reyes from her mind and met Cora’s smile in the mirror. “You performed a miracle,” she answered truthfully. Cora had given her something she hadn’t known she was missing or wanted. A glimpse of who she would have become in a different life.

Cora flung out a hand. “It took hardly any effort,” she said, fingers working through her own hair and taming the short tresses into complicated braids. “And Suri doesn’t let me help her, so this was more for me than it was for you.”

“How long have you been together?” Solana reached up and helped Cora pin a braid to the side of her head.

“A few years,” she said, a dreamy smile on her lips. “We were already friends, so it took some time to admit it was more than that.”

“I thought you and Reyes were together at first. It’s clear he loves you.”

Cora pinned down a second braid and turned to face Solana. “We’ve been friends since the first day of the Academy. My parents worked very hard and saved every single penny they made so they could send me, and Reyes was the only one who didn’t mock me because of it. I love him, but he’s not my type.” She swiped color over her lips and popped them together. “In fact, all men aren’t. Reyes is their one decent exception, in my opinion.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe Oskar, too. Nikolas is a fool.”

Solana laughed and perched on the edge of her bed. “I have the unfortunate affliction of being attracted to them.”

“Well, we can’t help who we love,” said Cora wistfully.

“I don’t fall in love with them. I just … enjoy them.” Solana shrugged and smiled when Cora laughed, the sound comforting and familiar. “I can’t afford to fall in love.”

Love blinded and complicated everything. It turned people toward nonsense and imprudence. It was love that drove Lucia into a deep despair after Masimu died. It was love that forced Lucia out of the house in the middle of the night instead of waiting until day to take Solana to the sick house. It was love that had sealed both of their fates.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in it—only that Solana believed love was a tether, much like the curse that kept the dead from knowing peace.