It wasn’t just about formally introducing Tristan into society, revealing a secret that so many spent years ensuring would stay hidden; it was also a celebration. I wanted to see everyone again—the people who had searched day and night forme, a girl they barely knew.
Tristan went to help Malakai after our little impromptu session on the floor, and I stood before the mirror, fixing my gown. It was a form-fitting dress that fell to the floor, a long slit cutting up the fabric that almost resembled my Unveiling dress in a way. The gown itself was an ivory white, but along the deep V neckline of the bodice were colorful jewels that I had requested beforehand. Each jewel represented one of the lords. Orange for Cass, red for Dez, yellow for Eris, purple for Naas, blue for D, and black for Kaiden. For Tristan, I had a jewel cut from the purest opal. It was so white that it shimmered in the light, and I placed it at the innermost corner of the V, close to my heart. He may have seen himself as darkness, but I had always seen him as the light that chased away my own darkness.
The doors to my room opened, and Lyra walked in, pausing when she saw me. Her lips parted a little, and her eyes roamed up and down as she took me in.
“Your hair is up,” she noted.
“It is.”
She swallowed as she tried to absorb the sight, and I wasn’t upset over it. She had only gotten a small glimpse of my scars when we were hunting together.
“The dress is backless,” she said.
“It is.” I chuckled, straightening my back as I turned back to the mirror, giving her access to my full back. “I’ve decided that my self-worth is no longer in the hands of anyone else. I love me. All of me.”
I thought back to the shadow figures I had seen when I… Well… when I died, I guess.
“Why do you hide them?”That’s what the man asked me.
I still hadn’t told anyone about them, yet. I hadn’t even told Tristan about Rosina. I didn’t want to say something without being completely sure that was what I saw. I still didn’t understand who they were or why they came to me. But whatever they did… It changed me. It wasn’t just fire anymore. If I used my light, my veins would glow, spreading to every limb like little webs beneath my skin. It didn’t hurt, though, and it was far easier to control now. But I still had a long way to go.
I felt a finger slide along my skin and saw Lyra through the mirror, tracing over some of my scars.
“Is it wrong of me to say that they make you look even more beautiful than you already are?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No. That actually means a lot to me.”
When I turned, she smiled at me and offered her hand. “This is going to be a lot tonight,” she reminded me.
“But I’ll haveyouat my side through it all.”
She blushed a little, but nodded. “Yes. You will. And I promise to do whatever I can to help Tristan moving forward, but…” her shoulders lifted in a long inhale, “Malakaion the other hand…”
“I swear you will grow to love him,” I promised her.
With a roll of her eyes, she helped me down from the small, circular platform I had been standing on.
“He’s batshit crazy, Mor. You know he was flipping his knife in the air yesterday and catching it with his mouth?!”
My cheeks burned from laughing as I imagined him doing just that. “Yeah… you get used to it.”
We were then interrupted by a small knock on the door, and when Lyra opened it, Azrael stood dressed and ready. I smiled down at him, and my heart felt twice as large. He looked like a child. Not a prisoner, not a victim of Cain’s wrath…. He was just a kid.
“Lord Dez said that it was time,” he chirped excitedly. “I came to escort you.”
Azrael even dipped into an unsteady bow that made my smile almost painful.
“Of course,my lord,” I teased him, wrapping my hand under his little elbow.
“Who’s this handsome man?!” Lyra yelled, shoving a hand into his perfectly styled hair and shaking it until it was ruined.
I glared at her as Azrael blushed a deep crimson.
Then, with Lyra behind us, her laughter echoing against the walls, we made our way together through the hall.
Chapter 63
MORRIGAN
