“The Orders have called an emergency meeting. All Chamber members and relatives.” She nods at Ten, and we look at one another before moving to follow her inside, my stomach turning in knots with the apprehension of what this might mean.
This was coming. It had to. But we don’t know what they are going to decide.
Kyra stops in the long hallway before she takes us through the maze of corridors leading to Ten’s apartments. She holds up her finger, as if to say one more thing, but I already know what she’s going to say. “I’ve got you a dress. More… in keepingwith your style.” She wiggles her brows at me in a very childlike gesture and—for a second—everything in our past fades away, and we’re just two friends, getting ready for a gathering. She’s still here, doing these things for me off her own back. She’s not left me.
“Is Lyle coming this time?” I ask. “You’ll be there, again?”
“Not officially. You, Ever, aren’t technically invited.” Her eyes dart between us. “The Maker invited you, though.”
This is it. This is the opportunity. The time to make them all see how things need to change. “We have to go. But, yes, Lyle is coming with us this time.” The apprehension morphs into hope, a faint flicker that scares me. The Maker has set this in motion for a purpose; she must have. She knows all, apparently. She doesn’t leave things to chance, so I grip hold of that and take her knowledge, her manoeuvring, as a source of strength. “Ten?”
“No fucking way you’re doing this alone. I’m in. Bring Lyle. Kyra?”
“I’ll be there. Come on. I didn’t know where you were, or I’d have told you earlier.” She starts to race-walk towards the apartments. “You have a plan, right?”
“Umm… for you to put me in something appropriate. That’s as far as I’ve got. I’ll work on it.”
Kyra takes us right to Ten’s apartment. “Ten, your parents have already left.”
He looks at Kyra, and I can’t read the expression on his face, but I do see the tensing of his jaw.
“I’ll get ready. Where did you?—”
“I set Ever up in a guest bedroom. Rigel pointed me in the right direction.”
The pressure of his hand around mine intensifies.
“Fine. I’ll wait for you here.” But he doesn’t let my hand go.
“Ten?” I tug on his grip, and I coax a smile from my lips to reassure him.
Kyra leads the way, and we follow along to the other side of the apartment, through into a small, elegantly appointed room. Hanging against the wardrobe is a black dress. It’s not flowery or pretty or anything like the gown she first dressed me in for the dinner at The Great Hall. It’s sleek and glistens with all the colours of the Orders. More than that. All the colours I’ve ever seen.
“It’s beautiful.” I step forward to touch it, to make sure it’s real.
“It’s more appropriate, I think. A mark of respect for Kalan, but I wanted you to have something that showed how fierce you are, too. That’s what you are, Ever. You are fierce.”
My throat constricts, and my eyes sting with tears. But they don’t fall. “Kyra, you don’t… have to be here.” The guilt claws at my chest, digging in deeper with every breath I take.
“Shush. I’m right where I need to be. You are not facing them in training gear and boots.”
My eyes close for a second before I open them to her again. “I thought you loved my boots.” I make the joke, forcing us back to the safe territory. “Besides, I won’t be alone this time. You’ll be there. Lyle and Ten, too.”
“And Calix and Capella. You aren’t alone in this, Ever. Believe that.”
My heart swells at her words, and I realise that even after today, seeing the graves of my parents and adding to the gravity of that place,I’mstill standing, with people around me.
“Come on. You need to be in this dress and at that meeting.”
I keep the doubt that this dress will be too much for a meeting to myself. After last time, I won’t question Kyra again. She helps me into the material, which has a high neck, and hides the scar at the base of my throat. The sleeves are capped, almost like armour, and cover my arms. It slips over my skin, and I feel both safe and confident in this dress.
“Ready?” She fusses with my curls, carefully picking a few of them away from my face and pinning them. Her fingers are as nimble as always, the ritual of not touching still in place even without my magic.
“I am. Where’s Lyle? She knows, right?”
“Yes. She’s waiting for us at the Tower. She’ll be there.” Kyra’s smile is reassuring, and it nearly breaks me.
Ten’s wearing a white shirt. No colour or embroidered threads signalling his Order. Stars, he looks good. But it’s a stark reminder of what I’ve cost him. It doesn’t matter that I’ve only been in Kirrasia a short time. I know your Order is more than just a signal of your ability or magic. The whole construct of your life is built around it.
