I would be damned if I was going to risk angering a fucking gnome. So I dragged my feet over to where she had commanded me to go, and I sat down.
Chapter twenty-two
WE ARE INEVITABLE
Nuala
When Darragh winced while introducing Edyna, and then even Ornella had balked at her, I was nervous that Rian’s reassurances concerning the gnome were unfounded.
“Gnomes are known to treasure all things unique and precious. She will be utterly enamoured of you,” he had promised me just before he left the tent for his meeting. Leaving Darragh as my guard until Ornella arrived.
I both loved and hated how casually he could say such things to me. His silver tongue was deliciously seductive. Only now I was uncomfortably aware of how easily he could use it to seduce others. Not because it shocked me that he would have had many lovers before me because I’d been expecting that all along but because…
Because I thought when he finally found me, he would give up other lovers without question. Because I thought our bond would take root in him right away.
Then I’d Seen his inclinations when Geera suggested arranging for hisusualentertainment, and I realized how foolish I’d been to think it would be so easy with him.
But at least Edyna was just as charming with me as Rian promised, although she was certainly temperamental with everyone else. Even Ornella complied with each and everydemand the gnome made without complaint aside from pinning her doe ears in aggravation. I never thought I’d see the dryad humbled, not even before Rian, so I was genuinely impressed by Edyna.
“Such singular colours,” the gnome had marvelled at my eyes while she painted them with gold and charcoal. “Such a unique beauty,” she then praised my hair as she brushed and curled it with rollers and a bit of heat magic. The section at the base of my head was left in big ringlets that cascaded over my upper arms while the rest was all twisted into an artfully messy bun. Braids studded with pearls looped over the top so they formed a crown-like halo around my head in front of the large bun.
“Fit for a queen. Just as he ordered,” Edyna whispered in my ear, making my heart throb hopefully as I stared in awe into the mirror. I did not recognize myself, not on the surface at least, but the growing confidence in my eyes?
That was certainly familiar.
I glanced over at Ornella once the gnome moved away to begin tidying her supplies. The dryad’s dour mood had brightened the second Edyna kicked her out of the chair to work on me. She’d tracked down Rian’s wine and was now reclining on the couch and drinking out of the bottle. One leg escaped the slit at the front of her dress and was propped carelessly on the little table in front of her.
“Hair of the dog,” she had toasted me, although I was not sure what that meant as she swigged the liquor.
She had managed to avoid being painted with makeup since she was able to darken and lengthen her lashes and made her lips and cheeks blush all on her own. Edyna had warned her that maintaining such magic in Autumn Court would be taxing for her. But I suspected Ornella would rather exhaust her power than submit to Edyna’s brushes. The only concession she’d made was having her auburn hair braided into one massive and very elaborate plait. Neither of us wore much jewelry aside from what was in my hair because it was evidently custom at theseparties to wear as little as possible. A fact that made me even less eager to attend, but I was trying to remain optimistic.
Ornella’s dress was a gold-and-green halter top with a split in the chest that opened to her navel, and there were two slits up the fronts of both of her faintly striped thighs. Ornella had been so pleased with it when she saw it that she promptly stripped naked to change, uncaring if either Edyna or I saw her. Edyna had muttered something about the indecency of dryads and was still scowling any time she looked in Ornella’s direction.
Now the dryad was eying my dress out of the corner of one eye as she tilted the bottle to her lips.
“Did I miss some scars?” she asked finally once she’d lowered the bottle.
I rose and smoothed my hands down one of the finer dresses Rian had selected when we shopped in Mionlach. The buttery silk was the mulberry-purple colour I knew he favoured on me with fine gold embroidery and trim. The illusion neckline and full skirt were the most modest designs we could find in Mionlach; so I guessed Ornella found the style unsuited for the party we were attending. The most revealing aspects of the dress were its drooping arm holes, which exposed the profiles of both my breasts, and the plunging back. Such an outfit was positively salacious to me, but I knew it was conservative compared to what the other fey would be wearing.
“You did not miss any scars. I simply do not want to show my body to anyone,” I assured her.
“Are you self-conscious for other reasons?” she asked, those shrewd green eyes narrowing. “I would never allow anyone to touch you in an undesirable way if that is what troubles you. I know humans and witches are filled with shame over their bodies, but you need not worry here.”
I smiled in appreciation of her concern, but I shook my head slowly while debating how to best explain myself.
“It is important that Rian is focused tonight. He is not pleasant when he is jealous.”
Her brows rose in surprise at the reply she clearly was not expecting, and then she frowned thoughtfully as she contemplated my words.
“His reactions are not your responsibility.”
“I am aware. It is the game we play,” I clarified.
The defensive worry in her eyes cleared in an instant, understanding spreading across her expression.
“Yes, I did hear that he is… possessive,” she admitted, fighting a smirk.
Her teasing was meant to downplay her curiosity about our relationship, but I saw the thinly veiled bid for more information for what it was. And although I appreciated her concern, I wanted her to know it was unnecessary.
