Page 55 of Bitten By the Basilisk

He expressed his thanks, then they went their separate ways.

Chapter Sixteen

Alice

On the way to lunch with her mom—at a bar and grill down the street from the spa, close enough to walk to—they passed the jewelry store next door, which Mom confirmed was owned by the Stone family and run by Silas’s mother.

The storefront, consisting of two enclosed display cases on either side of a recessed entrance, was distinctly art deco in design, having a stepped archway above the door and a pristine tiled entry with an angular fan pattern. Simple gold signage in an elegant font and a few gold accents on an otherwise black facade suggested the sort of subdued luxury that attracted the truly wealthy.

The jewelry on display was stunning, in particular a gold necklace shaped like a snake biting its own tail to secure itself to its wearer, its body set with tiny diamonds.

While Alice liked jewelry, she didn’t own much, all of it inexpensive. Didn’t stop her from staring longingly, though.

Over lunch, her mom pried from her every safe-for-work detail she could about Alice’s night with the Basilisk of Indigo Cove, including her run-in with Brett the vampire.

The stiff expression on her mom’s face was one that Alice had only seen once before, the one time she’d ever been in real trouble after “borrowing” her mom’s ID in order to get into a club at age seventeen.

Oof, Brett better have his head on a swivel.

Thankfully, as Alice recounted Silas’s guided tour, culminating in their visit to see the cove and town from the lighthouse, her mom’s mood improved to the point where Grace was sighing dreamily.

Alice also described both times the hitodama had appeared, hoping her mom could explain the ghost light’s fascination with her, but Mom was stumped, although not yet concerned.

Once they returned from lunch and her mom left to handle her afternoon appointments, Alice lay down for a nap feeling like she wouldn’t get any sleep, only to wake up in a confused stupor hours later when her mom came to check on her.

A hot shower dispelled any remaining grogginess. She then visited the second-floor salon, where Gina worked her magic. Literally.

By the time Alice headed back upstairs to quiet her stomach with a snack while waiting for Bruno, her hair had been styled into a half updo, the top loosely twisted away from her face to come together in a loopy braid in back that hung down with the rest of her waved hair.

When the doorbell rang at eight o’clock, Mom practically sprinted to let in Bruno, who entered the apartment with a shoebox underneath one arm and an opaque dress bag over the other.

Despite Mom’s transparent excitement to see the dress, she took time to chat with Bruno before she and Alice disappeared into her room so Alice could change.

The moment Alice spread open the garment bag and glimpsed the exquisite gown within—while her mom stood marveling next to her—she knew she wouldn’t need to see any alternates.

Silas’s choice of a burgundy satin base beneath black devoré velvet was perfect, the sheer areas of the material creating an ombré effect that she couldn’t stop admiring. The halter top left her arms, upper back, and shoulders bare, and a gold-beaded slit in the left side of the floor-length skirt offered glimpses of her leg.

As Silas had promised, the dress fit perfectly thanks to a clever magic spell on the material, the garment hugging her waist without constricting. He had even sent along a fur-lined shawl to keep her warm and a pair of burgundy ballet flats with silk laces and plenty of cushion. Her magic nail polish ended up changing to a sparkly gradient of burgundy at the tip and black at the cuticle.

Though she hadn’t been glamoured in years, the sensation remained unforgettable—a pleasant tingle that cascaded down her body from the bespelled leaf atop her head, its barely perceptible weight quickly disappearing as the glamour settled into place.

Standing before the full-length mirror in her mom’s room, she stared at her reflection with shy delight. Mom’s glamour hadn’t changed the shape of her face or the color of her eyes and hair, but her conjured makeup was flawless.

Her dark-red lips drew the most attention, and a blush-light layer of burgundy pigment surrounded her eyes, their shape emphasized with thicker lashes and thinly drawn winged eyeliner.

The glamour also gave her skin a subtle iridescence. As she turned and posed, specks of glitter flashed wherever the dress didn’t cover her body.

Despite knowing she ought to curb her enthusiasm, she couldn’t help looking forward to Silas’s reaction, although not as much as she anticipated seeing his shifted form.

Once Alice had tucked her personal items into a clutch, which Silas had also provided, she returned to Bruno, still patiently waiting in the entryway. He hid his admiration well, but she nevertheless noticed his deep breath, hard swallow, and the way he quickly averted his eyes.

Before they left for the banquet, her mom hugged her and said, “Have fun, sweetie. Call if you need me.”

Bruno insisted she sit in back for the short drive to Seacliff Castle. On the way, she learned from him that the choice in venue had been a last-minute change to tonight’s banquet, which was normally held at the gardens within the town park.

Without the usual wards to help keep normies from crashing a private gathering of snake shifters, Silas had chosen the ruins because they were far enough from town to be beyond casual walking distance, and the only land entrance to them was easily guarded.

The closer they came to Seacliff, using the same road she and Silas had taken to the lighthouse, the better Alice could see the soft glow rising from within the site’s moonlit silhouette. Up ahead, another vehicle’s rear lights turned onto a small lay-by marked with an unlit no-trespassing sign.