For a moment, I could see the girl I’d once known beneath the hardened exterior of the woman she’d become.Her shoulders loosened, dropping the invisible armor she wore like a second skin. The careful distance in her eyes flickered, then faded entirely. She nudged my arm with hers, letting her shoulder remain pressed against mine.
The conversation flowed easily after that: memories shared, old jokes revisited, the comfortable rhythm of two people who'd once known each other's every thought. Time seemed to slip away as we caught up on years of separation.
How did it happen?she finally asked, her smile fading.Why did they change you?
One of the nobles thought it would be fun,I signed, the memory leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.Turning a disabled servant. A curiosity for their collection.I couldn’t help but smile when I looked at her, then some of the anger returned.What happened to you?
Before Sidney could respond, she froze. Her head snapped toward the door, and she slipped the bracelet back on. The glamor settled over her like a shroud. Lady Ilyana was back, all cold nobility and sharp edges.
Footsteps vibrated through the floor, stopping in front of her door. I saw the shadow that fell across the threshold. Someone was listening. Sidney’s hand moved toward her bodice, but after a deep breath, she pulled it away.
There is a knock at the door. Hide.
Sidney rose, her face an unreadable mask, and moved to answer it.
Chapter 10
Sidney
Standing at the door were a pair of female vampires who wore the starched and pressed uniforms of house servants. They curtsied in sync.
“Lady Ilyana,” the vampiress on the left simpered, pressing her glossy red lips into a fake smile. The tint of her lip stain made her look like she was fresh from a feeding.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady.” The other servant could've been her twin but for the garish pink cosmetics that made her doll-like face resemble a child playing dress-up.
I gripped the wooden frame reflexively. Vampirism was a goal for some servants, especially amongst the women, who clawed to get ahead of their peers by any means necessary. If this pair were Turned, they were the meanest weasels in this den. And if they were Born and had fallen from the grace of their blue blood, they were even less trustworthy.
I sneered, knowing they were contemptible either way. “What do you want?”
“We’re here to get you prepared for the ball this evening,” Dollface answered. She took a step forward, but Ididn’t budge. Nor did I take an incriminating glance over my shoulder to show that I had someone hiding in my room.
The ball? By Aetherius’s light.I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. No wonder my head was so full of fog. Finn and I had talked the day away, catching up on years’ worth of separation. And maybe I’d enjoyed it a little too much. We probably would’ve kept going, if not for these two.
I rubbed one of my gritty eyes and fought back a yawn. “I don’t need help,” I answered plainly. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I heard how informal and not-Ilyana-like they were and cleared my throat. “Your assistance may surely benefit another.”
The first vampiress pressed her lips into a disapproving pucker. She dropped her voice to an urgent whisper. “The regent assigned us to help you. We have less than two hours to getyou—” She looked me up and down with clear disdain. “—presentable before the whole House.”
Well, that’d given me everything I needed to know. One, she was Turned, with her catty attitude showing no regard for the standing of the Krudelbach family. And two, I had just enough time to prepare myself. Alone.
“I shall see to my own grooming.” I flicked my hand in dismissal. “Inform the regent that I don’t require his pity.”
“But—”
I slammed the door shut and bolted it before Dollface could finish that thought. A sharp series of knocks sounded behind me as I turned away. No doubt they feared a punishment if they didn’t complete their assigned task. Oh well. Not my problem.
I needed to get Finn out of my room, preferably undetected. He peered out of the wardrobe, where he must’ve ducked when I told him to hide.
Coast is clear,Isigned.
He popped his hands out of the wardrobe to sign back,Why are most of the dresses in here the same color?
Ilyana really likes burgundy.
It is a…Then his fingers twisted into a shape I didn't recognize. I squinted, trying to pull the meaning from my memory, but came up empty. …color.
What was that last bit?I asked.
Finn didn’t look annoyed. He gave me that patient, goofy look and slowed down, spelling it out letter by letter.H-I-D-E-O-U-S.
