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No, nothing had changed between them at all.
They arrived at De Vesalis in the early evening, just as the city was starting to stir. Sunlight still covered the city, so at odds with the women who roamed the streets in lingerie and heavy makeup. Groups of men stumbled to and from various taverns and gambling halls, rejoicing in their winnings or lamenting their losses. Soldiers wandered the streets, but they didn’t seem concerned with any of the drunken tourists. In fact, some of the soldiers were drunk as well. The one saving grace of the city was the ocean breeze rolling off the Staerion Sea. It wove in and out of the buildings, bringing sweet relief to Elyse’s sweltering skin.
Sera seemed to enjoy it as well. She lifted her face to the sky, letting the wind tousle her hair. “You know,” she began. “The city would be remarkable if it weren’t for the—”
A boy no older than ten and six doubled over in front of Killian’s horse and proceeded to spill his guts.
“...well, if it weren’t for that,” Sera finished her thought.
Manny roared with laughter, then hollered to the boy, “Water with hemberry! You’ll thank me later!”
The boy, now seated beside his own pile of vomit, gave Manny a weak thumbs-up.
“You’re incorrigible,” Killian sighed, glancing sideways at his friend.
“Oh, don’t be a curmudgeon,” Manny replied. “We’re in the City of Vice!”
Killian rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, something about “curmudgeon” and “ridiculous.”
Elyse smiled to herself, but Jaime appeared unamused. “There’s an inn up the road,” he said in a stony voice, pointing to a sign post that read “Traveler’s Rest” in a beautiful script.
Sera had been right in her assessment; De Vesalis was remarkable. A fountain blossomed in the center of the city, adding to the bustle of excitement. Each building’s architecture was breathtaking, with exquisite woodwork painted in bright colors. The inside of the Traveler’s Rest was no exception, its floors lined with plush carpets and ornate wallpapers. The innkeeper, a middle-aged woman with painted lips and a tight corset, was kind as she showed them to their rooms.
They’d barely set down their luggage when Killian announced he was going to get dinner for everyone and excused himself. Jaime said something about needing to rest and disappeared to another room, leaving Manny, Sera, and Elyse alone.
“I suppose we should take the potion now,” Elyse suggested. She riffled through her bags until she procured a vial of deep purple liquid. Manny made a face, and Elyse didn’t blame him. It looked like the blood of some obscene creature.
“Ladies first,” Manny said as he eyed the concoction.
Trying not to look too closely at the liquid, Elyse uncorked the vial and drank half of it. It tasted unexpectedly sweet—almost disgustingly so. She passed the vial to Manny, who finished it off in one swig. He blinked a few times, looking back and forth between Elyse and Sera.
“Did it work?” he asked. “Do I look different?”
“Not yet,” Sera replied.
“You should feel it when it starts to work,” Elyse explained.
Right on cue, her own face started to tingle. Her skin grew hot, like she was sitting in direct sunlight, but it didn’t hurt. Her scalp itched, and she watched the ends of her silvery hair turn to chestnut curls. And then—much to her surprise—her breasts began to swell.
Fortunately, Manny was too busy worrying about his own appearance to notice that Elyse’s tits were practically popping out of her tunic. She watched with fascination as his hair darkened and his nose grew broader. Even his muscles started to wither away until his sleeves sagged around his arms.
“How do I look?” he asked, bolting for the nearest mirror. As he inspected himself, he touched his face, marveling at the transformation.
Sera giggled and looked excitedly back and forth between the two of them.
“I like the chin, but I could do without the eyebrows,” Manny said, combing his fingers through the caterpillars that lined his brow. Then his eyes shifted toward Elyse. “That’s quite the schnoz.”
Elyse instinctively touched her hand to her nose, feeling the foreign shape of it. She wanted to rush to the mirror and shove Manny aside, but she walked coolly across the room until she stood before her reflection. Sure enough, her nose was quite large, shaped like a beak in the center of her face. Her cheeks and jawline were sharp and angular, only serving to emphasize the nose even more.
“I quite like it,” Sera commented. “It’s very vogue.”
Elyse sighed. “Well, it’s only for one night.”
“How long did you say this will last?” Manny asked. “About six hours?”
Elyse nodded. “We should be good through the auction.”
Manny left the room to get changed, allowing Elyse privacy to do the same. The dress she’d chosen was much more complicated than anything she would have normally selected, but Sera was there to help her navigate through the layers of bustling and tie up the back. The corset bodice squeezed tight around her ribs, and the sweetheart neckline did little to cover her newly acquired assets, but the dress did have a secret pocket hidden among the layers of silk that bunched at her hips—a pocket deep enough to hide a replica of the eternal rose.
