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“But you need to go. You have your coronation tonight.”
“Will you be there? You and Peyton? I doubt if Kaylin will be in any shape to make it.”
Luna laughed then. “He’ll live, but no, he won’t be there. I will, though. And Peyton, too—at both your ceremonies.” She stood, then leaned down and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, truly. For everything. New Forest would be lost without you.”
“Without you, too,” I whispered back, hugging her tightly.
It was nearly four in the afternoon and I was starving. I hurried back to the common area, where I found Druise, frantic, looking for me.
“Oh, Your Highness. We have to begin preparing you for tonight. Where were you? I looked everywhere.” She seemed to be at loose ends.
“I was checking on Kaylin. The ceremony doesn’t start until eleven P.M.—do we really need all this time?” I glanced through the cupboards. “I’m hungry.”
“Then, please, my Lady, get something and let us retire. We have to bathe you and dress you and then you have to meet privately with Lainule.” And with that she pressed a jar of peanut butter into one of my hands, and two pieces of bread into the other.
“Don’t forget the jelly,” I said as she hustled me toward my room. She ran back and grabbed a jar of grape jelly and a knife. I grinned. The Fae were getting used to our odd eating habits. When I’d asked for peanut butter just a week ago, they acted like I was insane. And they knew that they should never offer me fish of any kind. I was EpiPen allergic to the stuff and not long ago had accidentally ingested some. That had been a laugh and a half—not.
While Druise checked the temperature of the steaming bathtub filled with water, I hurriedly slapped together a sandwich as I shrugged out of my clothes. She untied my lacing and I shimmied out of my skirt, then my panties.
Next step: I handed Druise my sandwich as I stepped into the bathtub and sank into the steaming bubbles. The fragrance of cool mint and bayberry overwhelmed me, and I leaned my head back. She handed me a towel to wipe my hands on, then my sandwich, and I sat in the tub, letting the heat soak into my muscles, as I swallowed the food in eight bites.
“So,” I said, licking my fingers clean, then plunging them into the water, “what am I wearing tonight?”
I expected there to be a fancy dress—after all, this was my coronation, but I hadn’t been expecting anything like what Druise carried in from the other room. I sat there in the tub, slack-jawed at the sight of the garment she bundled into the bedroom. Unable to speak for a moment, I scrubbed myself with the washcloth, then reluctantly stood as she motioned for me to hurry.
“That’s my dress?” I stood up, cautiously stepping out of the tub, and pulled the towel around me.
She nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips. “It’s ever so beautiful, Your Highness.”
And beautiful it was. The strapless gown was long, with a corset bodice that had a sweetheart neckline, and it billowed out at the waist into princess style. In shades of silver and ice blue, the bodice was embellished with dozens of tiny shimmering black snowflakes that glistened in the soft light of the room. The skirt draped into long folds, iridescent, hovering someplace between silver and twilight. The dress had no arms, but a pale gray fur cloak with a silver brooch would keep me warm. Druise laid it out on the bed, then added a pair of silver ankle boots, with a delicate heel and buckles that jingled softly as she set them on the floor.
I slowly crossed the room and stopped, running my hand over the material. It was incredibly soft and light, but warm. My stomach flipped, ever so softly, and I wasn’t sure just what I felt. Pride? Not exactly. But anticipation, yes. And hope—oddly enough, a flicker of hope for the future was beginning to build in my heart.
As I stood there, I realized this was really it. I’d been running all my life, running from the nightmares that had chased my mother. I’d spent twenty years on the move, struggling to keep us alive and, after she died, trying to find my own way. And now, at twenty-six years old, I was about to enter a new world. Instead of running from things, I’d be running them. That thought scared the hell out of me, but I pushed the fear away.
I dropped the towel. “I guess…should I dress now? What time is it?”
She glanced at the clock. We kept them around because, even though time in the realms of Fae ran odd, we had to keep tabs on the outside world as well. “Four thirty. First, let me prepare you.”
That sounded odd.
“I’m clean. Apparently that’s not enough?” But I didn’t want her to think I was grumpy, so I grinned as I said it.
She motioned for me to lie down on what amounted to a massage table. Druise wasn’t all that skilled as a masseuse, so I wondered how this would go. But she waited till I lay down, then covered me with a light blanket. After that, she opened the door and whispered to someone.
In came a member of Lainule’s court whom I had seen several times but never been introduced to. I had the feeling she was high in rank, and when she glided over to me, I felt all too nervous and vulnerable, lying there naked.
But Druise clapped her hands. “Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce Gera. She is Her Majesty Lainule’s healing therapist. She’s here to give you a massage.”
Gera wasn’t wasting any time, either. She pulled down the blanket, oiled up her hands, and dug in. I grimaced as she began to work her way into the knots in my back. As she adroitly manipulated my muscles, the immediate discomfort lessened and I began to relax. As I closed my eyes, I began to feel something beyond the massage—there was magic in her fingers. Magic permeated my skin, seeping from her fingers, loosening the strain in my body, eating away at the stress. As she worked along my spine, I began to breathe deeper, my lungs opened up, and I sank into the warmth of the blanket.
Within minutes, I was dozing, drifting in a sea of comfort. I’m not sure how long the massage lasted, but at some point I felt her oiling my legs with a lotion that smelled like freshly fallen snow and cinnamon, and I opened my eyes. She finished, then helped me slowly sit up.
I yawned and stretched. My muscles were loose and I felt like I’d had a week’s sleep. My skin was also smooth and silky from the oils, and I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the fragrance.
“Thank you.”
Gera dipped into a curtsey, then silently exited the room. I glanced over at the clock. It was almost seven. My stomach flipped a little and I wished I could jump ahead in time and get it over with. I was looking forward to the coronation, yes, but waiting for things always set me on edge.
