Page 167 of Bone Year

“Now you,” Lux says, clapping her hands together.

I let her pick out my dress, because I told her I didn’t care what I wore. I have too many other things on my mind, plus she loves this kind of thing.

She crosses to her closet and lifts the dress she’s been hiding from me all week. She refused to let me try it on, insisting it would fit and that she wanted it to be a surprise.

She holds it up.

The gown is a muted silver and icy blue that shifts in the light. A lace-trimmed satin bodice with a delicate bow gives way to a sheer, tight panel adorned with intricate frost-like embroidery that traces down the length of the dress. Tiny off-the-shoulder straps made of lace finish it. The whole gown looks both delicate and commanding.

“It’s stunning.”

She tosses it at me. “Go put it on.”

I slip into it in the bathroom and examine myself in the mirror. I already dried my hair and darkened my eyes, but the dress makes me look regal. It hugs my body, and my red hair against the silvery-pale blue is the kind of contrast that makes a person stop walking. I would never have picked something like this for myself.

I feel beautiful in it.

I exit the bathroom, and Lux and Ellavee are both standing there waiting for me.

“I look⁠—”

“Don’t,” Lux says. “Don’t say ‘fine.’ You look like the godsdamn moon, Maelis.” She squeals.

“That’s a stretch,” I laugh.

“It isn’t,” Ellavee says.

I smile. “Thank you guys for getting me ready. I couldn’t have done it without you. You both look gorgeous too.”

We all hug.

Then we leave Lux’s room together, the three of us, my heels clicking against the stone. Heels were not a smart choice for what I need to do tonight, but at least it’s a short heel.

I can hear music already. Strings layered with the low murmur of voices.

The grand hall is ahead, and light spills out of the open double doors in long warm bands across the snow. Figures in dark formal wear move in and out of the light.

“Last time we walked into a room like this, it was for orientation. Do you remember?” Lux says.

“How could we forget?”

We step inside, and the room has been completely transformed. The chandeliers above us are massive structures spelled with current to glow faintly from within, casting amber light across the polished floor. Tall ice sculptures rise from each corner of the hall. The sculptures are the eidolons of the academy. A bat with wings spread wide. A serpent coiled. A wolf with its head lifted.

And in the fourth corner of the room is a raccoon sitting on its haunches, holding a brain.

I stop walking. Lux turns to look at me.

“What is it?”

“Why is there an ice raccoon?”

“There’s only one person here who could have done that. I’ll give you one guess,” Ellavee says.

Lux and I both say in unison, “Professor Nestor.”

He’s an earth mage, so controlling the elements is something he’s very adept at.

“Told you he had a thing for Poppy,” Ellavee says, and we keep walking deeper into the room.