Page 136 of Fallen Court

And a minute alone.

But Ciara hung the dress back up and dutifully followed behind. The ladies’ room was elegantly decorated in shades of creamy white with enough stalls to accommodate half a wedding party. At least I would have some privacy. I tossed her my purse as I rushed for the nearest one. “You don’t look so good.” A smile lit up her face as she caught my bag. “Wait. Should this be a shotgun wedding?”

She slipped her signet ring off with an excited squeal. “Roark doesn’t need to hear about this,” she explained. “It will make a better surprise!”

I frowned at the implication, holding up a hand to stop her before she joined me in the bathroom stall. “I got this part myself.” I shut the wooden door and locked it, swearing I could hear her pout. Fae might not have boundaries, but I did. “And there better not be a need for a shotgun wedding.”

Now I really did feel like I was going to throw up. We had enough to worry about.

“But you two would have such cute—”

“Do not finish that sentence,” I cut her off as I slid my panties down and discovered the reason for my stomach’s sudden theatrics. “Welp, I’m sorry to tell you that you are definitely not going to need a shotgun. My period started. Can you check my bag? I probably have something in there.”

“Sure.” Her disappointment radiated through the bathroom stall. Ciara might be let down, but I was relieved. Now was not the time to bring a tiny fae-human hybrid into the world. No matter how cute Ciara thought one would be. It might never be the right time, and I was a-okay with that.

“I’m not seeing anything.” I heard her digging around. “Are you sure?”

“I should.” Except that it wasn’t my purse, full of my shit. It was one of the ridiculous affairs Lach had given me so I could carry a gun for protection. So, of course, I didn’t have what I actually needed: a freaking tampon. But the cramps were beginning to subside as if they’d only started to keep me from ruining a wedding dress. Another small mercy. Maybe fate was on our side at last. I finally had the right ring on my finger, I wasn’t pregnant, and I hadn’t turned the pristine bridal showroom into a horror movie.

“Wait, I missed a pocket,” she called.

“They might have some by the sink.” A few seconds passed without an update. “Ciara?”

“What the fuck is this?” she asked, banging on the door like I could see through it.

“I don’t care unless it’s a tampon.”

But her hand appeared over the stall door, waving a familiar handmade doll. I’d seen a dozen like it in Willow’s shop.

“It’s an effigy,” I said slowly, a new uneasiness creeping through me. “Where did you get that?”

The tiny doll vanished. “It was in your purse in a hidden compartment. Okay, let me check my purse.”

A fist clenched my heart, but I shook away my fear. It was a coincidence. Nothing more. “I must have grabbed one in the Quartier Enchanté and forgotten about it.”

“Oh, I have something.” She held a tampon under the stall door, and I swiped it from her. “Now, about this creepy-ass doll.”

“It’s an effigy,” I repeated. “They’re used for spellcasting.”

“Why do you need one?” she asked.

But I didn’t need one. The effigy wasn’t mine. Something held me back from telling her that, a preternatural sense that made me close my mouth like when I was a child and I stopped myself from cursing to follow the rules. I tried to shake the strange feeling loose, but I couldn’t.

“Oh, are you hexing my brother?” she asked, sounding entirely too sympathetic to the idea.

I laughed despite myself. “No. Why would I do that?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

Fair enough.

A shiver rolled through me as I scrubbed at the bit of blood staining my panties with a wad of toilet paper. I didn’t want to risk the white sofas any more than the gowns. It took me a second to realize that Ciara had grown quiet.

“You okay out there?” I called.

She muttered something nonsensical.

“What?”