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“They merely enjoy a good feast, drinking too much, dancing in the square. That’s all.”
I tilt my head to study him. “If that were true, they wouldn’t wait until your feast day to do it.”
Kaia ducks her head to hide a smile, and Thieran straightens. He gives me one last long look before turning on his heel and striding down the hall.
“Well done,” Kaia says, looping her arm through mine and leading me from the room. “Every year, I try to get him to attend. The souls don’t want me or anyone else there in his place. Whatever Thieran wants to think.”
“Does anyone else go?” I wonder, climbing the stairs to our rooms.
“Railan usually makes an appearance, and Nevon, of course. I don’t think anything could keep him from a good celebration. And now you.”
We stop outside my rooms and Kaia looks at me expectantly, her hands gripping my upper arms gently.
“You’ll let me dress you, won't you?”
I look down at my standard outfit. It’s not exactly fancy or fit for a feast day celebration. But it’s what I’m most comfortable in.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“Well, nothing. But…” She bites the inside of her cheek, and I imagine she’s trying to find a polite way of saying the way I dress is boring or unladylike. “A celebration is a special occasion.”
“I…” Kaia’s look is imploring, and I give in. “All right. What did you have in mind?”
She grins, taking my hand and pushing into my suite of rooms. We cross the sitting room into my bedroom, and my heart skips a beat when she goes right for my wardrobe.
Opening the doors wide and shoving my clothes back and forth, she doesn’t seem to notice the jar pushed to the recesses. It would be a difficult thing to explain if she did.
She pulls out a bright yellow gown with frills down the length of the skirt, and I wrinkle my nose.
“Yes,” she says, holding the dress out in front of her. “I see what you mean. Maybe something a little less…bold.”
The next dress she pulls out is a soft lavender, and she holds it up to my shoulders, shuffling with me to the long mirror hidden behind a tapestry in the corner. Adjusting the sleeves to lay over my arms and give the appearance I’ve tried it on, she cocks her head, studying my reflection. There’s something about it that doesn’t look quite right, and I meet her appraising gaze in the mirror.
“It’s not the right color for your skin tone.”
I nod in agreement, and she goes for a different one. Blue this time, and the color reminds me of the sea and Thieran. I shake the idea from my head, and Kaia takes that as dislike.
“All right, if you insist.”
I watch her replace the dress in the wardrobe and breathe a small sigh of relief. I hardly need to wear a dress that will remind me of Thieran all night. Going to his feast day will be bad enough.
What I really need is distance from him so I can do what needs to be done with this ritual. And I will. First thing tomorrow, I’ll test it. Go through the ritual and cut myself in a way that would make Thieran seek me out.
If he does, the ritual hasn’t worked. If he doesn’t, then all that’s left is to choose the right time for my escape. But that’s for tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll celebrate the end of my time in the Shadow Realm. Because I don’t have much of it left.
“Oh, what about this one?” Kaia calls, voice muffled, with her head in the wardrobe on the other side of the room.
She emerges with a beautiful velvet gown and a wide grin. Crossing to me, she holds it under my chin, arranging it until she’s satisfied.
“What do you think?”
I think my first thought shouldn’t be how much Thieran would love to see me in this dress. Or how much I’d love to have him take it off me.
I finger the edge of the sleeve and smooth a hand down the skirt. “It’s perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Against my better judgment, I find myself making my way to Elora’s rooms as the day fades to night. Her door is closed, the light shining out from underneath the only indication she’s still inside. Occasionally her shadow passes in front of it, and I wonder if she’s second-guessing her decision to go as much as I am second-guessing standing here.
