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“I can go.” She looked crushed, and I decided with a pang that I could handle a little bit of awkwardness. “It’s okay, Milly. You can help me.”
She perked up right away. “Thank you. I like helping. And you’re nice, not like…” Her words died away, and she looked nervously around her, her eyes finally landing on the mirror as if she expected the wizard to pop out of it any second.
She helped me dress and finished drying my hair, which was still slightly damp. I thought it looked good enough, but she tsked and tutted and insisted she style it for me. She clearly enjoyed having something to do, so I let her.
A quick look in the mirror confirmed that my face still wasn’t my own. Well, it was, but it wasn’t. I worried that if I checked myself in the mirror often enough, I would start believing that it was really what I looked like. Was that what had happened to the wizard? Had he looked like plastic Marlon Brando for so long that he couldn’t remember his real face? That was kind of sad.
I had to admit that my face went with the dress, though it was strange to see myself like this.
“All right, you’re all set. You look beautiful.” Milly stepped up onto the stool and came really close to my ear, pretending to make one last adjustment to my hair. “Be careful during dinner. He’s not to be trusted.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
We still had a few minutes, so we stayed in my room.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you an elf?”
“I am.” She didn’t seem at all bothered by my question.
“I’ve never met an elf before. I thought you all stayed in your own realm and never visited ours.”
“For the most part, we stay in our own. But my father owed the Wizard Volesus, Augustine’s great-grandfather, for a spell. He didn’t have any gold, so he gave me to him as payment instead. I was still a young elfling then.”
I stared at the woman. Had she been enslaved her whole life?
“You look shocked, but in my world, it is not uncommon for parents to give unwanted children away in exchange for what they need. I was unlucky and didn’t get to stay in the Elven realm. After I left, I slowly became more and more human. I can almost pass as one now.”
“Is this why you don’t have your magic anymore?”
“No.” She looked down at her feet and didn’t say anymore.
She walked me down to the dining room, where Augustine was waiting for me. I’d almost expected one long-ass table with him at the head, but instead, the long table had been pushed aside, and there was a romantic, candlelight affair at the center of the giant room.
Crap, I was getting date vibes. I was not ready for this.
“Enjoy your dinner, Miss.” Milly left, closing the door softly behind her.
Augustine’s bodyguards weren’t here either. We were alone.
The wizard stood and came to me, grinning wolfishly. “Ravishing. Yes. Yes. This will work splendidly.” He took my hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of it.
I did everything I could not to pull away in disgust. This was a game, and I had to play my cards right. Fighting him at every turn was not the way to go.
He poured me some white wine as the first course arrived: crispy boats of matchstick potatoes, layered with smoked salmon and topped with dollops of cream and caviar, presented on a gold-rimmed plate. Did this guy really eat this way all the time? Or was he pulling out all the stops for me? And why? Didn’t he have everything he needed already?
“It seems I owe you an explanation.”
I nodded. “Yup, I’d say.”
“How much do you know so far?”
“Only that my mom’s locket is one half of a magical talisman. Something to augment magic. But I can’t do magic. Not even simple beautifying spells.”
He waved his hand. “You are beautiful enough as you are.”
Yeah, and that was why he’d felt compelled to change my face with magic. Sure.
“Thank you.” My words were as fake as my face.
