Chapter 21 #2
She pointed at the pink oil. “That goes in first. Let it absorb into your skin while you soak.”
I picked up the bottle. The glass felt warm, and the liquid inside shimmered. “And the pearl stuff?”
“For after. It’ll give your skin that shimmer.” She winked. “The kind that makes certain people forget how to breathe.”
I huffed a quiet laugh, even as my stomach flipped at the implication. “You’ve thought of everything.”
“Someone has to.” She smoothed her hands over her plum dress, then looked at me, and something in her expression softened. “I know things have been complicated. But I’m glad you’re here. And while I don’t believe in perfect moments, I do think tonight can be beautiful. Let yourself have that.”
The words landed deeper than I expected, loosening that knot in my gut that had been pulled tight for too long. “Yeah, well… what if I fall on my face and embarrass myself in front of an entire court?”
“Then you get up, inform us it’s a Tennessee tradition, and keep going.” Her fingers squeezed mine briefly before she stepped back. “And if you can’t think of what else to do, grab food or a drink. Better yet, both.”
I grinned, feeling happy for the first time in what seemed like forever.
“Now I have a hundred things to finish before the ball starts. If you need me, send for me. Otherwise, when you’re ready, head to the main landing on this floor and go down one level.
You’ll hear the music. You can’t miss it.
” She paused at the door, glancing back over her shoulder.
“When you see yourself in that dress… remember you belong here. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise, especially not yourself. ”
The door clicked shut behind her.
I stared at the closed door with her words swirling through my brain. Then I remembered how Kai’s hands had felt on my skin, and how he tasted. The way he’d said my name like it meant something dangerous.
You belong here.
Did I? I let the question linger for half a second before shoving it aside and turning toward the tub.
Steam curled up from the copper basin in soft ribbons as the water filled it. I uncorked the pink oil and brought it to my nose, taking in the scents of honeysuckle and warm vanilla, and something softer beneath them that felt like it belonged solely to me.
I tipped the bottle and watched as ribbons of rose and gold unfurled across the water’s surface and dissolved until the entire room smelled like summer drifting into night. Then I stripped down, leaving my clothes in a careless pile, and stepped into the tub.
Heat wrapped around me, sinking deep and loosening muscles I hadn’t realized were still tight. I exhaled, sliding deeper until the water lapped at my collarbone.
Okay. This is nice.
The oil made the water feel like silk gliding over my skin, leaving behind a faint warmth that lingered after it passed. I leaned my head back against the edge and closed my eyes, letting myself sink into the sensation.
And then, of course… my brain went straight back to him.
The way he’d looked when he came through that door. All fury and restraint, barely held together. The way that had shattered the second he touched me.
The kiss.
Damn!
He’d kissed me like he’d been holding back for far too long. The weight of his body pressing me into the mattress, his hands sliding up my ribs, and his mouth hot against my throat—
I shifted in the water, heat pooling low in my belly that had nothing to do with the bath. Arrogant bastard and his effect on me. Hadn’t talked to me hardly at all this entire week, and then he barged in and thought he could kiss me and leave? All without actually talking, of course. Damn him.
I dunked my head under the water, letting it close over me for a long moment before surfacing with a gasp. Water streamed down my face in warm rivulets.
Focus. I had a ball to get ready for, and I was going to look amazing.
I scrubbed at my skin with the soft cloth, working the oil into every inch of myself until I felt warm all over and just this side of unreal.
Wherever I touched, a faint tingling followed, sinking into my skin and leaving behind a glow that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than the surface.
By the time I climbed out and wrapped myself in the softest towel I’d ever felt, I was already half convinced Thea had dumped straight-up sorcery into the tub.
Then I looked in the mirror and stopped.
My skin really was glowing. Not in some terrifying, radioactive way, thank goodness, but with a subtle sheen that looked like moonlight skimming over water.
Even the gold flecks in my hazel eyes seemed brighter, like they’d formed a faint ring around my pupils.
I leaned closer, studying myself with equal parts fascination and unease, because this was me and yet.
.. not quite the same me that had fallen into this realm thinking she just needed to survive.
You belong here.
With Kai.
That thought hit too close, so I shoved it away hard and reached for the jar of pearly powder instead.
It went on like butter, catching the light in all the right places and adding another layer of soft shimmer that somehow made me look more like myself and less.
Then I stepped into the dress, and the second the fabric slid over my skin, I understood why Thea had looked so smug.
It felt weightless, cool at first and then warm as the magic adjusted, the bodice molding to me like it had been made for my body and no one else’s.
The laces at the back tightened on their own, the fit snug but comfortable, while the off-shoulder sleeves settled perfectly against my arms as if invisible hands had arranged them.
The shoes were no different. They slipped on without a fight, molded to my feet, and somehow managed to feel stable despite looking like they had been handcrafted by glamorous sadists.
By the time I finished dressing, I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me.
I opened the wardrobe door wider so I could see myself fully in the mirror, and my mouth actually fell open.
The lavender and periwinkle layers spilled around me like twilight made into fabric, every crystal catching the light so the whole dress glimmered with the soft illusion of living starlight.
The sleeves framed my shoulders and collarbone perfectly, the neckline dipping just enough to look elegant instead of like I was trying too hard.
Even half-finished, with my hair still damp from the bath, I looked like someone who belonged in a room full of fae nobility.
Like someone who belongs here.
That thought tightened my throat. When was the last time I’d looked in a mirror and felt beautiful instead of just acceptable?
Back home, people had said I was pretty, sure, but most of the time, that “compliment” had come with a look that made my skin crawl.
Pretty had never felt safe there. It had often felt like a problem.
Here, even after everything that had happened, some quiet part of me knew this was different. The Night Court soldiers had been monsters, but this place, these people, this court... they didn’t feel that way. Here, I could take up space and not be punished for it.
I sat at the vanity with the brush Thea had left out and worked it through my damp tangles with slow, careful strokes.
My hair had always done whatever it wanted, but the oil and bath had apparently bullied it into cooperation, because the waves fell smooth and heavy down my back.
I worked a little of the pearly shimmer powder through the ends until they caught the light too, then twisted the sides back and pinned them at my crown, leaving the rest loose.
It wasn’t overly complicated, but it looked pretty, and right now that felt like enough.
There was a delicate silver tiara resting on a shelf inside the wardrobe, subtle enough not to scream princess cosplay but pretty enough to finish the look, so I slid it into place and stepped back again.
Yeah. Okay. That worked.
Then the music started.
It rose from somewhere below in a soft, aching swell of strings that drifted through the stone walls like something alive. It hit me square in the chest and sent a fresh riot of nerves loose in my stomach, which flipped hard enough to make me laugh under my breath.
I pressed a hand to my middle, but the butterflies ignored me and kept rioting anyway. Then I reached for a little silver clutch Thea had left on the vanity. It was empty because I had nothing glamorous to carry, but it completed the whole look, so, fine.
Before I left, I took one last look in the mirror.
“Okay, Hannah of Tennessee,” I muttered to my reflection. “Don’t trip. Don’t say anything stupid unless it’s funny. And maybe don’t immediately start making out with infuriating kings again.”
At the last second, I grabbed the weird compass thing—the astrolabe—from where I’d stashed it and slipped it into the gown’s pocket. Since he’d come charging in here half-feral over it, I figured I should probably return it before he broke another door.
Then I opened mine and stepped into the corridor.
The hallway looked different tonight. The torches burned low, their light mingling with the faint shimmer of magic, everything glowing in muted gold and lavender.
Even the air had changed. Scents of perfume, spices, and polished stone drifted together with the music, which grew clearer with every step.
My heels clicked as I walked, and the magic of the shoes did make it feel more like gliding than walking. Thea had been right about that too.
By the time I reached the first staircase, the sounds of a crowd in the ballroom had begun to rise beneath the music.
Voices layered over one another in a low, elegant hum, broken now and then by the ring of crystal and the rustle of expensive fabric.
The closer I got, the louder it all became, until I reached the main landing and saw exactly what Thea had meant.
I couldn’t miss it.
The grand staircase curved down in a wide sweep toward the ballroom below, broad enough for several people to descend at once and decorated so beautifully it didn’t look real.
Silver rowan leaves had been woven along the banisters, along with deep indigo-colored flowers I didn’t recognize, and tiny luminary orbs nestled between them like stars that had decided to rest there for the night.
Below, the ballroom opened in a glittering circle of motion and light.
The vaulted ceiling had disappeared beneath a canopy of shifting enchanted stars, while chandeliers of crystal and silver turned slowly overhead, casting fractured rainbows across the polished floor.
Everywhere I looked, fae drifted through the space in clusters of silk, velvet, brocade, and colors so rich they looked enchanted themselves.
I stopped at the top of the stairs and curled one hand around the cool banister, searching the crowd automatically.
Where was Kai?
With this many important people gathered, he should’ve already been down there, brooding in some corner and pretending he wasn’t looking for me, but I couldn’t spot him anywhere.
A pull gathered in my chest and tugged behind me.
Then a hand landed on my shoulder.