Chapter 18 Non
Non
The last few days had consisted of three things: disappointing my grandmother, getting battered by one of my family members, and bleeding.
And the one-on-one training session with my grandmother consisted of exactly that.
After nearly an hour spent trying to summon anything wooden with no success except for a throbbing headache, Granny decided a more physical approach might be better.
She then proceeded to shoot countless balls of ice at me in hopes my power would fight back.
Big, fat shocker, it didn’t. The only thing I walked out of that training with was a few bruises to my ribs and back, and self-esteem so low I didn’t know it was possible to think so little of yourself.
All I wanted was to soak in a scorching bath for the rest of the evening.
I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but the thought of going to a revel, as they called it, seemed miserable.
I was exhausted and could hardly keep my eyes open when I eventually staggered through our bedroom door a few hours later. Jazz was nowhere to be seen, and I sent a silent thanks to whatever gods were out there that I didn’t have to talk to anyone after the day I’d had.
My bath was hotter than the fiery pits of hell, and I even dozed off for a little while. When the water eventually started to cool, I wrapped myself up in a dressing gown and made my way back to my room as I tried and failed to detangle the mop on my head.
As I pulled the shutter across my half of the room for some privacy, the bedroom door burst open and in came a red-cheeked Jazz carrying a dinner tray and swaths of fabric slung over their arm.
“Hungry?” They beamed, setting the tray down at the foot of their bed.
This was the second time they had made the effort to bring me a meal when I was too tired to venture down to the dining hall.
Jazz sat down and patted the space next to them for me to join, which I did, though reluctantly.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful for Jazz bringing me dinner, but I knew it wouldn’t be a silent meal.
After my bath, I finally felt like I had scrubbed off the day from hell, and the last thing I wanted to do was relive it all again.
Like every other meal I had eaten since arriving at Llwyn Onn, my dinner of poached salmon and green beans was delicious.
I scarfed it down, not giving Jazz a second to ask me about my day.
Thankfully, they also ate in silence. It wasn’t until my knife and fork clattered on the plate that either of us spoke.
“Room for dessert?” Jazz asked as they held up what looked like cake and custard. As tempting as it was, I was close to bursting and very aware that I needed to fit into some kind of elaborate outfit for the evening ahead.
Jazz tidied our dirty dishes away and placed them outside our bedroom door. When they returned to the foot of the bed, they were beaming like a Cheshire cat.
“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me. It’s making me nervous.”
“Ready to see what you’ll be wearing this evening?”
My stomach dropped when I realised the garment bag bursting with fabric Jazz had carried in earlier was for me.
But exhaustion had truly set in, and I didn’t have it in me to argue with them to let me wear something I already had.
So I forced a tight smile as I took the bag from Jazz’s outstretched arm and made my way into my room to try whatever was inside on.
An hour later, I was finally in the bloody thing.
From the piles of tulle that had poked out of the garment bag, I assumed the dress would be spacious and easy to wiggle over my head, but gods was I wrong.
The outfit was made up of two layers. The first was a floor-length dress made entirely of tulle; it fell off my shoulders and had two thigh-high slits up the front, which showed a scandalous amount of skin as I walked.
Although layered, the fabric was still transparent; thankfully, Rhun had somehow made the sections around my lower private areas opaque.
For the top, he had created a bodice version of a habit that laced up in the back and replaced the usual modest sleeves with thin straps.
The boning was embroidered with intricate flowers of silver and gold, matching my eyes.
At the centre was a raven, its wings outstretched like it was bracing for landing.
Jazz insisted they do my hair. After thoroughly detangling it, they suggested I wear it plaited over my head in a crown.
“Nah, it’s too short for that kind of style. Leave it down like I always do.”
Jazz placed gentle hands on either side of my head and turned me to face the mirror. I was shocked to see my hair now midway down the upper parts of my arms. Nearly in line with my tattoo.
“It was only brushing my collarbone this morning.”
“Beats me. Maybe it’s all the fresh air you’ve been getting.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue when Jazz started pulling the damp strands into a plait.
I assumed Jazz would want to do some lavish makeup to go with the dress and hair; instead, they’d decided to keep it simple with just a berry-coloured tint to my lips.
When they eventually got fed up fussing with a few unruly strands of my hair that wouldn’t sit properly, Jazz left my room, shutting the screen door so they could finish getting ready.
With only a small vanity in my half of the room, I was left twiddling my thumbs, sitting on my bed until Jazz announced they were ready.
I gasped when they opened the partition and stepped into my room in a tailored blood red suit.
Their hair cascaded down their back in loose waves, and the dusting of gold powder they’d applied to their chest under their jacket shimmered as it caught the light.
They were nothing short of breathtaking, and I had a feeling they’d be fighting people off tonight who wanted a piece of their attention.
Pulling me into their half of the room, Jazz grabbed a blanket from their bed, threw it over the full-length mirror, and beckoned me closer. “I want your reaction to be genuine when you see yourself.”
“Is that really necessary? I can see the dress, Jazz. There’s no surprise reveal.”
With a click of their tongue, they positioned me in front of the mirror. “You haven’t seen the full effect—I’ve really outdone myself!”
Jazz gripped the edges of the blanket; their eyes were wild with excitement. “Ready?”
I took a deep breath and tried to resist the urge to bolt out the bedroom door.
“Sure.”
When the blanket dropped, the reflection in the mirror was unrecognisable. Had it not been for the fact that I had watched Jazz get me ready with their own hands, I would have been convinced Witchcraft was involved somehow.
I had been less than enthused about socialising with a group of people that likely wouldn’t treat me much differently than my grandmother did. But seeing myself all put together, I felt a little excited about drinking until I couldn’t feel my face, even if the company would be miserable.
“Well?” Jazz asked, tapping their foot impatiently.
I ran my hands down the front of the corset top, fiddling with the small silver and gold beads that adorned each wildflower. As beautiful as it was, I couldn’t ignore the twist of nerves in my stomach when I took in the colour choice of the tulle and corset.
Jazz pouted. “You don’t like it, do you?”
Forcing on a smile, I turned to Jazz. “I do, really. It’s just the colour makes me a little nervous.”
Scoffing, Jazz walked towards their dressing table, picking up a powder puff and dusting more gold onto their chest. “No one wears Coven colours to any of the parties they throw for the Anoethau. You’ll blend in once you are in a crowd of thousands of people dressed in every colour under the sun.
Be grateful you aren’t attending the Cyngor Blaen dinner, then you’d be expected to wear Coven colours. ” They gestured to their red suit.
Guess I didn’t get an invite to the exclusive dinner party.
“You look incredible in red,” I said, returning my gaze back to the mirror.
Jazz, who’d been rummaging through their collection of jewellery, slammed a drawer shut in defeat. “Yeah, you’re right, I do.”
“So what’s the issue?”
“Oh, there isn’t one; I was just fishing for a compliment.” They winked, and I felt the rush of heat in my cheeks.
Rolling my eyes, I slipped on the satin heels that had been left on my bed. “Can’t imagine you need to fish for compliments. Don’t you have countless people throwing themselves at your feet, desperate for a date?”
A long pause of silence passed as I wrestled the shoes onto my feet. When I looked back up, Jazz was staring at me with an intensity that made my cheeks go from pink to scorching crimson.
When they next spoke, their voice was low, husky. “I have my sights set on someone else.”
Oh, shit.
I wanted nothing more than to give in to this push and pull with Jazz.
There was undeniable chemistry that I was desperate to explore.
But the fact of the matter was that Jazz was only here because of an order from my grandmother, and for all I knew, their interest in me wasn’t genuine.
Self-serving, even. After having my heart ripped out by Elis only a few days prior, I was not about to let that happen again.
Breaking eye contact before I did something stupid, I stood and made my way to the bedroom door. “We’re going to be late,” I called over my shoulder.
“Hold on!” Jazz’s arm hooked around my waist, pulling me to a stop. “You could do with some jewellery.”
I turned in their grip and immediately stepped away when our noses accidentally brushed against each other.
“Can’t find anything that works in my vanity, but I know where we can borrow something from.” Jazz’s smile was all teeth.
We were running very, very late.