14 DAYS. 10 HOURS. 18 MINUTES.
Back at the palace, IoN rested on my armoire while I placed my bag in my room, which was conveniently a few doors down from Meena’s. Then I took out the only nice thing I’d brought with me, but it was gray and drab and missing a button and I?—
A door swung open as an elderly woman burst through. “You must be Cinderella?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“The princess sent me to help you get ready.” Some assistants wheeled in a long clothes rack with various dresses, followed by various boxes I assumed were filled with shoes and jewelry. “She thought you might feel out of place without my help.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and sagged onto the bed. “Thank you.”
A laugh slipped through her thin lips as her eyes crinkled in the corners. “Come on, young lady. Let’s get you ready to escort the princess.”
Escort the princess? I hadn’t given it much thought until now, but I had been on her arm this entire time and didn’t really look the part, did I? Should we have purchased better clothes before we left? Yeah, right, El. With what money?
“What kind of dress did you have in mind?” I asked as I brushed past all the wonderful colors. “I’m not used to wearing anything with any real color. Not really a thing on the lower levels at home.”
“Here, even those on lower levels wear color. It’s a Prago City staple, dear.” She pulled a dark yellow dress from the rack and held it up to me but frowned. “Nope. Not that one.” Then she carefully placed it back onto the hanger and took out another one. Red this time, but with a deep, curving neckline I was sure would expose more of me than has ever been seen.
Holding it up to me, she beamed. “This one. This is the one. It’s perfect.”
“It’s a little . . . revealing.”
“Young lady, you are a beautiful woman in her prime and deserve to feel adored. You’re... How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“You’re a beautiful twenty-year-old lady. Trust me, dear, the beauty only lasts a couple of decades, so make the most of it.”
I looked her over, taking in her slim, cinched waist and her sharp shoulders and high cheekbones. “I doubt you’ve ever been anything but beautiful your entire life.”
She chuckled as she gathered corsets and cages and various undergarments. “Remind me to show you some of my childhood photos.”
We put on the stockings and garters first, then the drawers. She slid a pair of beautiful red pumps with kitten heels onto my feet, then threw a chemise over my head and tied it up at the back, and grabbed the corset she thought would best shape me.
“I’m just going to tie this, but let me know if it’s too tight.” Her delicate fingers made quick work of the strings. “There. You’re looking like a proper lady.” She sounded almost excited, like I was a pet project or something. Then again, I bet she was used to dressing ladies and royals who were already beautiful with all their creams and baths and things that helped them look proper.
Next came the cage and bustle, accentuating my hips and shaping the dress into whatever design she had in mind, and when she was done with tying those into place, we covered the corset with a camisole and placed a few layers of petticoats in various materials to help cover the cage and bustle.
It was already so heavy I wanted to sit down, and we hadn’t even put the outerwear on yet. We didn’t wear quite this many layers on zero.
“We can take a break, if you’d like,” she suggested, clearly noticing my fatigue. “There’s a jug of water on the dresser.” She gestured behind her.
“Yes, please.”
One of the assistants poured me a glass, and I gulped it down. “Thank you.”
“Are dresses not this complicated where you’re from?” she asked as she grabbed the skirts of the dress off the hanger.
“No, not really. I’m from level zero,” I mumbled.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, so this is all quite new to you, then?”
I nodded, shame sending my eyes to the floor.
“Never mind, we’ll have you looking fit for a princess in no time.” She winked and asked me to raise my arms, then shuffled the material onto the petticoats as I bounced to settle them into place. “There we go, dear.”
The bodice came next, and we spent a good half an hour tying it into place, making sure my curves sat right and that it flowed into the shape of my corset. When we were done, she stepped back and looked at her work as though I were a doll for display, a project she’d spent the better part of an hour on.
“You are . . . stunning.” She clapped at the assistants.
They scurried forward, placing various accessories on my body, from gloves that reached my elbow to a necklace heavier than any jewelry I had ever held, and they finished it up with a tulle shawl around my shoulders, dipping behind me to my elbows.
“There. Now we just need to make your hair shine and your face all pretty.”
The assistants spent the next hour curling, pinning, and styling my hair into what I could only assume was a style to match the grandeur of Prago City, then spent another hour covering my face in uncomfortable creams and powders and colors that made my skin heavy and my face itch. When they were finally done, they spun me around to face the mirror, revealing my reflection. Other than the dress being red with a plunging neckline, I had known nothing of what was being done. It was for the best, really, because if I had seen this in progress, I would have run away screaming.
I looked like a lady. A real, honest-to-Seren lady. You would have no idea I was from a lower floor had you not asked and had I never opened my mouth to speak.
She handed me a fan and winked. “You’ll need that in this heat tonight.” She left, leaving me to look at the unknown reflection in the mirror, the lady I didn’t know existed.
This was what it meant to escort the princess somewhere. Somewhere official, I assumed, or else there would be no need for the dress whatsoever. This was a complete contrast to our usual, easy-go-lucky friendship where we were both ourselves and could relax in front of each other. This was prim and proper. This was nothing I knew anything about.
I hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself.
IoN had been silently sitting on the bedside this entire time, not getting involved, but just before I left, he flew toward me with a green mouth. “You look beautiful, El. Have fun tonight. Forget about everything else and just remind the princess what it means to be alive.”
I waited in the lobby for the princess, a large marble room that echoed my every step, the heels marring the peace. At the sound of wheels on the floor, I spun around to face not my friend Meena but Jemeena, Princess of Clepsydra and heir to the throne. She stepped out of the wheelchair, clearly leaving it behind for the evening. Her purple and gold dress fell to the floor in layers that dragged behind her while she walked.
“El.” Wonder laced her voice as she looked me up and down, bewilderment dusting her lips as a sparkle lit her eyes. “You look...I’m not sure I have the words.”
“I don’t think I have ever worn so many layers of fabric in my entire life.” Lifting my skirts, I walked closer to her and offered my arm. “It’s heavier than I thought it would be.”
“Some of the royal jewelry, especially crowns and tiaras, are really heavy and can only be worn for a few hours at a time.”
“Really?” With her gloved arm tucked into mine, I walked us out the door. “That’s crazy.”
Waiting outside was a steamer made from that shiny green metal, but it went all the way over a long vehicle, forming an enclosed space, rather than being open.
“We’re riding in a stretch steamer?”
“Of course.” She waited for the driver to open the door before she slid inside, leaving my hand at the final moment.
I followed, doing my best to shuffle my skirts and the cage inside, but I was sure it did not look elegant. Eventually, I huffed onto one of the seats opposite Meena. “Sorry, that was not very graceful of me.”
She giggled, covering her mouth with her fan. “It’s okay, I didn’t expect you to be perfect. I asked you on a date, not some noble lady.”
“Right.” I looked at the floor. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. But it’s nowhere I’ll care about what you look and act like, though you do look beautiful.” She looked out of the window with glassy eyes. “Maybe if I make it back home, I’ll invite you to a ball. Then you’ll get to really show off that beauty.”
I leaned over, grabbed her hand, and rubbed circles between her fingers. “I will get you home.”
“I know you’ll try.” She shook her head gently, her curls flowing around her face. “Let’s try not to dwell on all that. Tonight is about living. And I want to go on one amazing date with you before I die.”
The steamer came to a stop, and I pulled her toward the door. “Then let’s have fun.”
I wasn’t sure how to have fun, but I would try for Meena. Apparently, the look on my face when we exited the steamer was enough amusement for her, though, as her laughter sent her into a coughing fit and I had to guide her to the side of the enormous building to catch her breath.
Blood welled in spots on her handkerchief, which she tucked back into her sleeve before anyone else saw. But I noticed.
She was doing well at hiding it, but her illness was progressing, and I had to spend the night ignoring that fact. Somehow.
This was for her. This night was something she wanted, and I was the one who told her to spend her final days doing something she enjoyed, so if going out with me and showing me Prago City was what made her happy, then I’d ignore her illness and the job and the weight of the kingdom’s future on my shoulders for a few hours.
“Are you ready?” I offered her my arm.
She threaded her arm through mine and slowly led us to the front doors of the grand building. There was a golden rope barrier forming a queue, but she walked us up to the doorman.
He bowed and let us through, unclipping the rope. “Have a nice evening, Princess Jemeena.” He grinned as he looked at me. Not polite or tight or a wow-she-looks-poor smile, but a genuine, real smile.
It might very well be the first of my life from someone other than a friend.
Inside, the building loomed impossibly tall, the ceilings higher than what they logically should be for this floor, but the decorative stonework patterning all the walls detailed scenes from ballets, plays, and various other productions—famous ones, I assumed. I wouldn’t know, I’d never been to one. The floor was made of frosted glass, and the sound of everyone’s heels clicked and clacked through the cavernous room.
“The ceiling is made of mirrored glass to give the illusion of high ceilings,” Meena explained when she noticed me looking. She pointed to a decorative piece of stone that showed a prince catching his princess high in the sky. “That’s from The Prince’s Rose .” She pointed to another piece, one of three young girls skipping in a circle. “And that’s from The Ever After .”
I pointed to another—this one detailing two women kissing—and asked, “And that one?”
“ The Princess and the Frog . She kisses a cursed frog and it turns into a princess she falls in love with. It was the first time two women in love were presented on the stage.” She laughed, high-pitched and elated. “I remember when it came out. I was maybe four years old, and all the noblemen scoffed and wouldn’t stop complaining about it.”
“Is it considered okay for a princess to not like men?” I’d never thought to ask before.
We walked up a grand staircase, taking it one step at a time.
“It’s not favorable, but no one ever says anything. I think if I didn’t have two brothers who regularly dated women, it would be more of a problem.”
Eventually, we made it to the top of the stairs, and an usher guided us to a set of silk curtains he opened and tied with an equally elegant rope to let us through. Behind them were four plush chairs and a table filled with food, some kind of liquid in a glass jug, and glasses waiting to be filled.
“Welcome, El, to the top theater in Prago City. And welcome, equally, to the royal box.” She sat in one of the front seats and patted the one next to her. “Come, sit.”
“What are we watching?” I asked as I took my seat. I filled up a glass with whatever the red liquid was for each of us and grabbed a small plate of fruit and crackers.
Meena turned down food but took her glass. “It’s called Love in the City . A play about two people from different classes falling in love.” She looked at me and grabbed my free hand. “I thought you might like it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
In truth, it was a terrible representation of living in the lower levels of Palatina, but then maybe things were different here in Prago, who knew? The love story was, however, more sensational than I expected, more emotional than I knew how to handle, and the acting was superb. It was like it was real, happening right there in front of me.
Meena kept my hand in her lap the entire time, squeezing whenever something made her cry. Watching her watch the play was a delight I would never forget. The way the candles highlighted her lips, the way her tears ran down her cheeks, and the way her hand rubbed circles over my thumb made something in me bubble. Something I had never felt before.
As the final scene was closing and the curtain came down, I turned to face her. “Meena...thank you for bringing me here. It was wonderful.”
She squeezed my hand once more. “You’re welcome, though you spent more time watching me than the play, so I don’t know how you can have any opinion of the story itself.”
“What I saw was beautiful.” I met her eyes as the words slipped from my lips, not entirely intentionally, and a blush crept across my face.
She had the decency to look embarrassed, maybe slightly flushed, but she held my gaze nonetheless. Something in her green eyes fizzled under the candlelight, a heat I didn’t expect to be burned by. “Come on,” she whispered. “There’s something else I want to show you.” She guided us outside and stopped to take a breath. “We should take a steamer there. It’s a bit far for me.”
I grabbed one for rental from the queue around the corner, our earlier stretch steamer having been dismissed, and drove it back. “Hop in.”
She strapped herself in next to me and rested a hand on my knee as she tightened her shawl around her shoulders.
“Are you cold?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be okay. This is going to be worth it.” She drove us toward a larger elevator tube designed to take steamers and we went up to the top level of the city—level fifteen. From there, she took me across three bridges and around more corners than I could keep count of until we came face-to-face with the tower near the back of the city. “It’s used for security purposes, but it has the best views.”
We got out of the steamer and headed inside to find an elevator to take us up to the top.
“I got lost on this level when I was eight, and I was crying so hard the guard who found me didn’t know what to do, so he brought me here while he alerted the palace staff.”
The elevator climbed the few meters to the top in a matter of seconds, and we exited to a platform with a small wall around the outside and no roof. Two guards stood on either side, binoculars in hand.
One of them strode toward us. “What is your business here?” he asked before he noticed the princess. “Sorry, Your Majesty. Is there anything we can do for you?”
“No. Please, return to your business. I’m just using your wonderful watchtower to impress my date.”
The guards chuckled and turned back around, ignoring us.
She led me toward the side that overlooked the city. The sight took my breath away. Lights lit up every centimeter, like little stars buried in the earth instead of floating in the sky. They were all different colors. You could see down the levels, past the crisscrossing bridges that made up the floors, but the farther down you looked, the fewer lights you could see.
“Everything is so beautiful up here.”
Meena squeezed my hand again before letting it go, and for a second I missed it, until she stood behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. “It really is.”
“Is it like this back home too?”
“Yes, but the lights are all the same boring color and you can’t see down as far.” Her hands linked at the front of my chest, holding themselves in place. “It seems more beautiful here, somehow. Less oppressive. But it might just be that I don’t have to run this city one day. At least not while living in it.”
“Hate to ruin your parade, but technically the royal family rules every city and village on the island.”
“Not true, actually. We don’t rule anything beyond the mountains, including Vakt Port and the Pental Coast.” She coughed a little and then rested her head back on my shoulder. “They’re part of the island, of course, and we regularly converse and trade with them, but they’re ruled separately.”
“I always just assumed the royal family of Clepsydra owned everything.”
Her small laugh brushed up against my skin, like candlelight in the cold. “Our politics are not that simple, but we don’t really tend to inform the public of things they don’t need to know.” She took as deep a breath as she could. “But I think knowledge is power, and if we empower our people, then we empower our city.”
“That’s very wise of you. I would be happy with you as my queen.” The fact that it would likely never happen hung over our heads like a cloud, and suddenly, the beauty of the night wasn’t enough to keep the moment alive. “I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.”
The trip back to the palace in the stretch steamer had me trying not to stare at her beautiful emerald green eyes that reminded me of the leaves on the old apple trees we used to grow on floor zero—and I found myself hopelessly failing in that endeavor. She was like a magnet, the light my wings flew me toward. Her smile was something I liked to swirl around my head whenever I wondered what the hell I was doing here in the middle of Prago City trying to look for a cure to time. Then I’d look at her, and I’d watch her lips turn and laugh, watch her talk about strengthening the weak and supporting those who needed it, and watch the way she fiddled with the gold cloth wrapped around her lifeclock, and I’d be reminded that it was her. She was the reason I was here trying to cure death. Trying to do the impossible because she was worth every second of frustration, every ribbon of grief I wrapped myself within.
I had to save her. No matter the cost.
She belonged in the light.
“What are you staring at?” she asked, closer than I remembered her being.
“How beautiful you are.” I couldn’t stop the honest words escaping my lips, so I stared at those emeralds and held her gaze, begging her to shut me up.
Her gaze dropped to my lips, then darted back to my eyes, before she leaned in and gently brushed her lips across mine. Testing. Tempting.
Grabbing her hand in mine, I pulled her farther into me and kissed her back, slightly harder but still gentle. Her breath molded into mine as her fingers gripped tightly, as though she was trying to hold on but the kiss was pulling her away. When her tongue snaked along my lower lip and I opened to let her in, she gasped and sucked in a deep breath before plunging her tongue into my mouth and scouring her hands up my sides.
“El...” She broke away, catching her breath. “I want to live.”
The misty gaze that penetrated mine snapped me in two, broke something within me I didn’t think I’d ever find a cure for. Tears spilled down her cheeks as silent sobs shook her shoulders, and she fell into my arms.
I didn’t know what to do. Helpless, useless, I did nothing but sit there, rubbing circles on her back and being a cushion for her to cry into. But it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t keep her alive.
But I wanted it to be.
When her sobs had lessened and she could breathe right again, I took her chin in my hand and looked her straight in those tear-stained eyes. “We still have time.” Grabbing her wrist, I unwrapped the golden silk and showed it to her. “See. Still fourteen days to go.”
She looked at her ticking clock, her time written perfectly for her to see, and I thought, for the first time, that I understood why some people kept theirs covered. Knowing how long you had left to live wasn’t always a blessing. Sometimes, it was a curse.
She steeled herself like a princess: deep breaths, tissue wiped across eyes, hands ruffled across skirts, and a gentle smile placed back onto her face. All as though she hadn’t been broken a mere ten seconds ago. “Okay. Right. I’m good.”
“You sure?”
She looked at me with a brokenhearted kind of strength and nodded. “I am dying. But just because we probably won’t succeed doesn’t mean I won’t try. In the meantime, I’m going to spend my spare moments living.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Ready to retire for the night?”
“We have a lot to do in the morning, so yes.” A yawn escaped me as though to demonstrate my answer. We got out of the steamer, still holding onto each other’s hand, and headed back inside.
My room was down the hall from Meena’s in case she needed anything. As I walked her to her door, she turned around and leaned up to me, her lips pursed and her hand squeezing mine. She placed the gentlest kiss on my cheek, barely a whisper.
I grabbed her by the back of her neck and turned our faces together so our lips locked. Her gasp of surprise brushed against me, and I took the opportunity to step closer and press her body to mine, running my hand up the side of her dress. “Is there anything you need, Princess?” I asked, breaking away for a moment to let her catch her breath.
She smirked at me and laughed. “I bet there’s plenty you can give me.”
Red burned across my cheeks as I stumbled. “I meant help getting undressed or...” I wasn’t helping.
“Uh-huh. Help. Sure.”
“Seriously, I wasn’t...well, I mean, I wouldn’t mind...” Crap. What was I thinking? I turned around to go back to my own room, embarrassment quickening my steps.
“Wait! I can’t walk that fast to stop you.”
I stopped but stayed with my back to her.
“I would love some help, in whatever way you’re willing to assist.” She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my neck. “Even if that is just getting ready for bed and then cuddling.”
I turned back around to face her, my face still burning red. “I’ve never...umm. I mean?—”
“That’s okay.” Her hand cupped my face. “It’s just living, right?” She led me gently by the hands into her room, as though afraid I might bolt at any moment—which was a well-founded fear because my heart raced and my chest constricted as my stomach tumbled in on itself. Then she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed, where she looked up at me. “But I really do need some help getting out of these clothes.”
That snapped me out whatever trance she had trapped me in. “Right.” I lifted her back onto her feet and spun her around so I could undo the ties to her complicated dress. “Seriously, how did you get into this?”
“I had help.”
“You’ve never had to consider how difficult something is to get into before, have you?”
She shrugged. “Not really. The lady’s maids are trained to do all of that, so it doesn’t matter in my life, but I can see how you might have to think about that if you don’t have a lady’s maid.”
I finally had the outer layers untied. I shimmied them down her body and asked her to step out of them. “You’re lucky my stepsister has had some seriously difficult dresses before now, and that I was made to dress them.”
“Did they dress you too?” she asked as I loosened the corset.
“I haven’t had many chances to wear nice dresses. I do rather like this one though.”
“You look stunning in it. You would make a beautiful lady, if you so choose.”
“I think I’m better suited to being a mechanic, but thank you.” She was in her chemise and drawers but still had her shoes on, so I sat her down to take them and the stockings off. “Besides, I don’t think balls and parties and dates are in my future.”
“You never know. There might be a wonderful man or woman in your future, and you might enjoy it. Someone who’s willing to kiss you when you’re greasy from having worked all day and who loves IoN as much as you do.”
Someone. But not her. Because she was the princess; even if I saved her, it wouldn’t be her. I was just a dalliance. That was all it could ever be.
“Maybe. But I’m okay on my own.” If it isn’t you, I didn’t think I would want anyone else. But I didn’t say that out loud. “Come on, let’s get you into a nightgown.”
She chuckled and turned, then removed her chemise, drawers, and garters so she stood in front of me naked with a smile on her face that I wasn’t sure was innocent nor one that had any inkling to put on nightwear. “Or maybe I could return the favor.” She spun her finger at me, gesturing for me to turn around.
I did what any decent woman would do when asked something by a royal, I followed orders.
Her fingers brushed against the many layers of skirts and tulle as she expertly untied each and every one, lifting them over my head. Next came the top half of the dress, then the crinoline, and before I knew it, I was standing with my back to the princess in nothing but my underwear and corset. Her fingers deftly loosened the laces, and then I could feel the heat of her fingers run down the chemise beneath, a single layer from my bare skin. So close. Closer than anyone had gotten before. Then went the shoes and stockings, before she turned me around and looked me in the eyes. “If you wanted to retire for the night, I wouldn’t be upset. Or if you’d like to remain like this, we could cuddle in bed while ordering all the desserts from the kitchen.”
I grabbed the hem of my chemise and lifted it over my head. “Desserts sound good, but maybe later.” Then the drawers and garters came off, and I stood just as naked as she was, taking in the gaze that raked up my body.
My eyes finally wandered down past her shoulders, her bare arms loose at her sides. Her breasts were on display above her tight waistline and hips, and then my eyes trailed lower than they’d traveled on anyone and landed on thighs I wanted to grab in my hands. Instead, I wrapped my hands around hers and guided us to the sheets that I moved aside and climbed under, dragging her with me.
Lips pressed to mine, hands roamed my body, heated skin lit every nerve on fire, and I drowned in her presence. Drowned in the waves that held up her soul, the very essence of who she was. There was nothing anyone could say to persuade me that this was a bad idea.
“Live with me,” she whispered against my ear as her tongue licked down my neck and then she caught a nipple in her mouth.
I arched off the bed, my hands gripping her hair as her fingers delved into me, her lips seared my every breath, and her eyes stole the sanity from my soul. She worked my body like it was her personal instrument, like an expert in her field, and I rose and fell like the sun in waves as we found our rhythm. As I came down from the high, I flipped us over and got the chance to explore every beautiful inch of her sun-kissed skin, taste every delicious part of her, and yet it wasn’t enough.
I could spend a lifetime exploring her, and it wouldn’t be enough. But I wouldn’t get a lifetime so I’d make sure the time we had counted, that every second created memories.
“El...” She lifted my head up and dragged my body up hers so we were chest-to-chest. “I...thank you.” Her lips closed against mine, and I drank her in.
“I’m not done giving you life yet.”
Her small laugh crawled down my body and across my heart. “No?”
“No. Not unless you need me to stop.” This was vigorous, and I didn’t want to aggravate her lungs.
“No, no, no. It’s okay.”
“You sure, Princess?”
She cringed, her brow furrowing. “Please, call me Meena when we’re in bed together at least.” Her eyes rolled as she folded her arms across her chest, annoyed.
“Are you sure you don’t need a break, Meena?”
Her eyes met mine with something in them, something real so I knew she was taking her own health seriously. “No, but I’ll tell you if I need one.”
“Good. There’s no rush. We can take our time.” I grabbed her face in my hand and tilted her chin up, smirking at those flushed cheeks and parted lips. “There are still things I want to try.”
“I am happy to be your experiment for the night.” The bubble of laughter that popped across the room exploded as she rolled us over and pinned me to the bed with spread thighs and wandering hands. “But you should get to experience me too.”
Her lips kissed every inch of my body—places I never imagined someone tasting—and her fingers expertly explored every crevice, stoked every ignored cinder into a roaring flame. She took longer in places that excited me, went slower with words of encouragement in places that trembled my nerves and stole my breath, and eventually found a rhythm that made my hips rock and my mind forget about anything but the feel of her skin on mine and the pleasure she wrought.
Sweat trickled onto sheets, breaths panted into the air, and hands wandered across skin as we lived in the present. She taught me to live that night, and I didn’t think I would ever forget the pleasure on her face and in her voice for as long as I existed.