Chapter Seventeen
Melinda
“You’ve tried on the same three dresses,” Isa frowned as she watched me pull on my senior prom dress for the third time.
My frustrated groan only increased with each failed attempt at making my dresses look presentable enough for a town dance.
Despite my impatience, Isadora remained patient and tried to provide a solution to my problem. “Maybe you can try one of my dresses?”
“Isa, I say this with complete love for you, but no. Your dresses will put a red A on every piece of clothing I have for the rest of my time in this town,” I replied before collapsing on the bed.
She flapped the paper she had been fanning herself with to fan me, the sweat on my brow cooling me more as the cool air washed over my face. “Ah, thanks.”
There was a soft knock on the other side of the door and my dad slowly opened it with a box in his hands.
When he noticed we were decent, he opened the door wide enough to enter and held the box out to me.
I looked at him confused, but pushed off the bed to take the box from him.
Immediately as I removed the lid, I saw the blue fabric inside.
“It was your mother’s,” he answered before I could ask. “She brought it from Shadowhaven.”
Isadora peered over at the mention of her home. She gasped as she looked at the dress. Peering around at her, I saw her giddy expression.
“That dress is dwarven. Gods they make the best dresses,” she gushed.
“I thought dwarves were miners? At least, that’s how they are portrayed in films here.”
She shook her head in response. “Not all. The dwarves do mine, but they are masters of creation whether weapons or art or in this case, dresses. Many designers in Shadowhaven are of dwarven descent. My tailor is dwarvish and fae. He is amazing at ball gowns. I can’t pinpoint who made this one, but I can tell it’s dwarvish by the gold thread.
They all use pure gold thread to make their dresses since they hold better than standard thread. ”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were so versed in fashion.” she blushed at my compliment. “I know who my Shadowhaven shopping buddy will be.”
“It’s yours to wear tonight,” my dad smiled before placing a hand on my head. “This might be the last founder’s dance we attend. I want it to be memorable.”
With tears in my eyes, I wrapped him in a hug. “Thank you.”
“Be happy, Mel. If nothing else, be happy,” he whispered to me before kissing my head and releasing me. “Are you driving there yourself?”
“Yeah, just in case the others need to go home. Plus, you know how I’m not big on this town stuff. Especially since they all think I’m a killer,” I exhaled before putting the lid back on the box. “Thank you again, dad. I’ll wear it tonight.”
“See you later tonight then,” he smiled before looking at Isadora. “Good seeing you again, Isadora.”
“You too, Mr. Hardgrave.”
He nodded awkwardly before shutting the door behind him as he left.
Isadora quickly tore the box from my hand as she skillfully unzipped my dress in one swift motion.
Shoving the new dress at me, bouncing on her heels in excitement.
Laughing at her antics, I removed the prom dress to put on my mother’s dress.
“It’s a little tight in the chest, but overall it fits. How do I look?” I relayed after zipping up the side of the dress. Isadora nodded before turning me to face the mirror. The dress wasn’t fancy, more like something you’d wear to a church or in this case, a town dance.
The blue fabric of the dress had another glittery layer on top that looked almost like liquid as I twisted my hips. It hung down to my ankles with a slit that exposed my left leg up to the thigh and hugged my chest a little too perfectly despite how tight it almost felt.
“The top layer is silk from the Seelie court. Curious that your mom continued to possess it despite running away from Shadowhaven. It’s only a precious commodity outside of the Seelie court in Shadowhaven. It holds no value here.”
“My mom and her past are a mystery. I don’t think we will ever get the answers that we want from her.”
“Well, on another topic,” she drawled awkwardly.
“Lucien is going to pass away when he sees you. Honestly, I knew you had a rack, but girl,” she complimented.
I rolled my eyes and her hands cupped my breasts with a delighted squeal.
“Gods, I feel so flat chested next to you. My brother is a lucky man.”
“Isa,” I gasped before swatting her hands away.
“Don’t worry,” she chuckled. “If I feel or see something I haven’t before then I’d throw money at it.”
“Are you, um, do you—.” I paused, racking my brain for a way to ask this in a respectful way. “Am I attractive to you?”
“Yes,” Isadora raised a brow before bursting into laughter. “Is this a sensitive subject for your world or something?”
“Sometimes.” I nodded and she patted my shoulder while still laughing. Her eyes roamed down to my chest again as she whistled before going to where her dress was waiting. I had to help her find her own, but Isadora was quick to adapt and find a dress that would not stand out too much.
Dad drove in his truck once we finished getting ready, following us to the mayor’s land where the dance was always held.
His house sat on a large plot of land that had a small personal lake that he had strung lights up across to give it a more elegant appearance.
The driveway to his home was lit with fairy lights in the trees and a massive amount of red roses in the gravel.
“What a waste of rose petals,” I sighed as I looked down at the passing red spots in white gravel.
“We’re here,” Isadora squealed as we pulled up to a parking spot.
Lucien appeared, opening my door with a handsome smirk.
“May I?” he asked with an outstretched hand. I slipped mine effortlessly inside. Pulling me from the car, he caught me in his arms so that he could carry me across the lawn towards where others were gathering. “You didn’t tell me this was a Shadowhaven party.”
“It’s starting to become clearer once I met you all.”
He brought my hand to his lips, creating a heat in my cheeks. “Looks like I was a missing piece in more ways than one.”
“When we leave later, I’ll show you another way you were a missing piece,” I winked. He let out a throaty laugh at my try at dirty talk, his face burying in my curls. He growled softly, just close enough that sent shivers down my spine.
“Perhaps we could leave now. I’m very fast.”
“Oh, I know,” I chuckled. “But we have to stay. I promised a dance to my dad and to Isa.”
“Perhaps a fast tempo then? A foxtrot?”
Isadora appeared beside us, since we had remained at the entrance a little longer than expected. “Perhaps you could move out of my way so I can make an entrance? If you’d set your lovely mate down, brother, you’d see she’s wearing a dwarven dress. And rocking it too.”
I beamed at Isadora’s compliment. Lucien quickly, but carefully, set me down so he could take a step back to survey me. Another growl spurred from him as he took me in.
“I think you should take me in, Isa,” I suggested to Isadora with amusement. “Lucien might take a detour home if he gets his hands on me.”
Someone stepped between us and I looked up to see the smiling face of my father. Offering me his arm, he spoke, “Then I should be the one to take you in. We can have the first dance together.”
“I’d be delighted,” I drawled before looping my arm through his. As we walked towards the doors, I winked over my shoulder at Lucien.
“Make sure to pick your jaw up from the ground before entering, Lucien.” Isadora laughed as she followed in behind us.
The inside was a normal sight for me by now. The columns always had ivy wrapped around them with flowers I’m sure were native to Shadowhaven while more ivy flowed up towards the chandelier. More flowers hung from the ceiling until it looked more like a tropical oasis rather than a mayor’s home.
A water feature had even been placed in each corner of the room, adding to the tropical retreat they were aiming for every year.
“It’s like we’re home,” Lucien sighed happily. “If your father is to have your first dance, may I have the next?”
“Depends on when he releases me,” I responded as we all headed towards the dancefloor. My father pulled me into a dance while Isadora and Lucien danced together. The tempo was slow, but felt more like a waltz than a high school slow dance.
Taffy was there with her mom, Dorian was there as well with Lance glowering in a corner. When our eyes met, he turned on his heel and left. Dances were never his thing, but he came. Was it just to brood off the dancefloor? He was probably looking for the killer since everyone would be here.
“Penny for your thoughts?” my dad asked as we continued into another song. Exhaling softly, I gestured in the direction Lance had retreated from. “Lance is a big boy. I’m sure he will get over a broken heart. He seemed to be over it when he was hurting my daughter.”
“I handled it fairly well,” I shrugged. “He gave me pointers on how to wield my powers before he went crazy. It was easier than I had thought.”
Something twisted my dad’s face, almost like disgust as he heard me talking about using magic.
As quickly as it had happened, it disappeared.
He stepped out from our dance and, saying nothing at all, left me there to head towards the back patio.
Before I could comprehend what happened, Lucien pulled me into a dance.
His movements were elegant while mine were wobbly since I only knew a few dances.
His amber eyes softened as he saw my confusion. “Don’t worry about it. He was hoping to keep his word to your mother about keeping you from Shadowhaven.”