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I frowned, suddenly concerned about how she was speaking—as though she was saying goodbye. And I realized she must have feared that dive more than she was letting on. Or perhaps she feared what would happen if she completed the dive but was caught anyway.

So many things could go wrong tonight, for all of us. But Perla had the most to lose.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to wrap a tendril of my specter around her hand and squeeze in gentle reassurance. “I am with you,” I said, meaning it wholly.

She squeezed back, the sensation as powerful as a secret clasp of hands. Erik had torn us both from our homes. And although neither of us knew if we would ever return, we shared the pain of wanting to. It was a unique kinship that even the king could not destroy.

I was withdrawing my specter when someone crashed into me, one hand steadying my right hip. “Excuse me, my lady.” Lye’s slurring voice blasted over the music.

I stumbled again as Holden wrenched Lye off me by his collar. “Can’t handle your drink tonight, Moreau?”

“S’not my fault.” Lye grinned, the picture of drunken glee. “These cocktails were designed to make fools of us.”

Holden gave a bland smile. “If I recall, you’ve never needed help on that front.”

Lye laughed, boisterous and uncaring, as Keil sauntered over.

“Perhaps you should return to our rooms, Lye.” Keil’s tone was conversational, holding just a tinge of authority. “No need to embarrass the rest of us, too.”

Armed with the excuse to leave the party early, Lye gave him a slanted-smile salute and lurched away, walking in a zigzag.

Only the steady slide of his hand into his pocket betrayed his sobriety.

Holden and I drew away together, the fabric at my right hip feeling lighter. Lye had successfully relieved me of the mold.

Now he just had to get it to the locksmith and return with the key before the midnight window.

I was a mess of nervous anticipation by the time the drums sounded, signaling the portion of the jolly that represented Saxon’s final battle. With blown kisses and glass-clinks, the courtiers funneled out into the Crater to change into their second outfits.

“Thank you for your companionship, General.” My instincts rebelled as I returned his necklace and watched him loop it over his head. “I look forward to dining with you and Prince Finbar.”

“And Lady Perla,” Holden said, giving me pause.

“I didn’t realize she would be joining us.”

“Oh, yes. Her presence has been specially requested.”

I smiled tightly and turned for the exit, sweaty bodies bumping against me.

First Finbar had warned me about my dress, and now he’d requested Perla’s presence at dinner? I was so preoccupied with analyzing his odd behavior that I didn’t notice where I was walking until a courtier gasped beside me, her wide eyes fixed above—toward the archway of the lovers’ embrace.

The archway I’d just walked under.

Pass under their arms, and you risk losing your own love.

An irrational dread quickened my heart rate as I marched out toward my narrow black changing tent.

Shadows steeped the interior, the Crater’s lantern canopy providing just enough light through the fabric to see by. My vision adjusted as the partygoers bustled outside.

Then I saw the dress Holden had picked out for me—and I froze. Because this sheath of fabric was more nightdress than gown, its thin black satin gliding like water between my fingers. The neckline plunged in a style resembling that which I’d worn in Daradon, but lower, sure to bare more than just the edge of my blueneck fever scar. Two long slits ran up the sides of the skirt, each positioned to reveal a glimpse of my thighs with every step I would take.

Cool anger washed over me. This was beyond inappropriate. I was not a doll to be dressed up by a lustful general, nor was I a member of his court, to be ordered around or cajoled into submission.

I considered remaining in my current dress for our dinner, or, better yet, changing into my third outfit of the jolly: a simple blouse, riding trousers, and boots—an ensemble designed for the cold walk up to the cliffs later tonight.

But as the heat of bonfires began throbbing on all sides, I knew there was too much at stake. The others would be splitting up across the island in search of the sword right now, all sorely outnumbered. And it was my job to keep Holden distracted long enough that he wouldn’t notice the missing members of our party.

So, if this dress would distract him . . . then I would wear it.