Muse (Muses of Wespen #1)
Chapter 1
M y mother called for me in the dressing room, and I hurried to fasten my crimson gown around my waist, because I knew she would burst in at any moment.
It didn’t matter that we were in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Calida, and I was one of the muses chosen for a prestigious performance. If Adora Dellamousa wanted to get to me, no doors, no guards, no formalities could possibly keep her away.
“Isadore, are you ready yet?” she asked as she opened the door.
“Nearly, Adora,” I said, calling her by her name as she’d requested since I was a child.
"Good," she said, but her piercing gaze was already on the floor-length mirror before me, as if she didn't trust her own eyes to appraise me. "The gown is lovely, but it's a bit… simple for the Balefire festival, isn’t it?”
All of the muses performing would wear gowns in the same color and approximate style, but a noble designer had custom- made each one out of lustrous gossamer fabrics. Mine had a long skirt with two slits down the sides rising high on my thick thighs, and the fitted bust was encrusted with glimmering rubies. Thorny black branches were embroidered on the bodice to look like they were climbing up my waist and breasts.
This was, without a doubt, the finest gown I had ever worn. All my other appointments had been at smaller courts – a Lady on her birthday, a village celebrating a particularly robust harvest – but this was the Balefire Spring festival before the Queen of Calida and her entire Court. No expense had been spared. Even the makeup on my face and the rose blossoms in my dark hair were of the highest caliber.
Balefire was one of the grandest festivals in Wespen. It was a celebration of passion, fertility, and abundance, and it coincided with the planting of the summer crops. Thornbushes decorated with red ribbons and wreaths of red flowers hung on our doors.
"No matter," Adora said since I didn't respond. "It's the woman who makes the dress, now isn't it?"
She stood right behind me, and her hands were on my bare arms in a gesture likely meant to be comforting. However, she gripped too tightly, and her long nails were sharp against my skin. My mother was taller and much slenderer than I, and her long hair was curly where mine was straight, but otherwise, we appeared remarkably similar.
Our skin was heavier on the cream than the peaches, but we had enough color that we didn't look sickly. Our faces were heart-shaped, with dainty chins and full cheeks underneath hooded eyes, and our hair was the same dark umber color as a cinnamon stick.
The intensity in her eyes and the fierceness of her smile truly separated us.
“You will be the star tonight,” Adora said in a way that sounded more like a threat than encouragement.
Outside the dressing room door, I heard my friends and fellow muses Briar and Wrenley calling my name in a sing-song way. I let out a breath of relief because they were coming to rescue me from my mother, and they poked their heads in the door, grinning at me.
Both have performed at the Queen's Court before because they were talented and mesmerizing. Briar was blond and blue-eyed, and her midi gown showed her shapely legs. Wrenley's curly dark hair landed just above xer ears, and xe had a perpetually mischievous smile. Xe wore a jumpsuit in the same gossamer fabric as the rest of us, with a deep V cut down to xer navel in the front and wide flowy pant legs.
“Sorry to interrupt, Adora,” Briar said, so saccharine sweet I almost believed her. “Isadore is needed elsewhere.”
"We need to do one last run-through," Wrenley added, sounding much less apologetic than Briar.
"Oh. Of course." Adora finally released me and gave my friends a sharp smile. "You both look wonderful. Good luck, Isadore, and don't forget to keep your chin up. You don't want to look bloated in front of the Queen."
“Thank you, Adora,” I said, and Briar took my hand to pull me away from her.
“Good advice as always,” Wrenley said flatly, and then we were gone, hurrying down the corridor away from my mother.
"Where are we going?" I asked since that seemed like a good thing to know.
"Soren wanted us to do one last rehearsal," Briar explained as we walked. "We're to meet him and the other muses in one of the smaller ballrooms since the big one is occupied for the main event."
“Oh, that excuse was true?” I asked in surprise.
"It is, but we would've made up one to snatch you away from Adora," Wrenley said. "Why is she still hovering around you like you are a muse fledgling? You're twenty years old, for the Matronae's sake."
“Some mothers struggle to let go,” Briar said, more gently than Wrenley. “But now, there is no time to talk of such things. We have the Balefire to prepare for!”
“I didn’t even know there was a rehearsal beforehand,” I said uneasily.
“Well, ordinarily, there aren’t any on the day of,” Wrenley said, sounding rather ominous. “But this is Soren’s first time enchanting the Balefire, and not everyone believes he can handle it, so he’s been zealous about practicing.”
Adora had muttered something to that effect when she first learned that Soren Tomoleo was the enchanter for the festival, but I had all but forgotten about that since working with him. Soren seemed so knowledgeable and sure of himself – not to mention talented and handsome – it hadn't occurred to me that he might be nervous about all of this.
“That gives you more time to warm up, too,” Briar said, doing her best to remain cheery and ease my nerves. “Isn’t that serendipitous how it worked out?”
"Yes, serendipitous," I said as we entered the ballroom together.
It was a grand room with marble floors and columns around the edge. Diamond chandeliers hung above us, and a beautiful mural featuring ancient muses dancing in the skies with the Matronae of Muses was painted on the ceiling.
The Matronae were the three goddesses who mothered the original muses ages ago: Brigida, the goddess of beauty, life, and dancing; Mnema, the goddess of knowledge, memory, and music; and Freya, the goddess of love, death, and magik.
The other muses were already there—twelve of us in total, mostly young women but with a few men and nonbinary. All of them were dressed in their exquisite gowns or jumpsuits, stretching and practicing their magik… and waiting. The enchanter wasn't here yet, so there was little more that anyone could do.
Briar, Wrenley, and I joined the others. We only started stretching when I felt a shift in the air. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, but not in an unpleasant way. Each column had a torch, and the bright flames flickered and turned red momentarily.
Soren had arrived.