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We sit together in peaceful silence until Cecile glides over to us like a Grecian goddess in a flowing blue gown. “Well?” She looks around the room with a proud smile. “What do you think?”
I give her the truth. “It’s beautiful, Cecile. Thanks for moving the date up sooner.”
Cecile sighs. “It wasn’t easy, but it came together nicely enough, and you had a point. The sooner everyone meets you, the sooner they’ll stop attacking you.”
Or more of them will start attacking me.I don’t voice this thought. There’d be no point. Cecile will still make me go upstairs to her suite and change into that dangerous gown she’s picked out for me to wear. “Let’s hope,” I say.
Cecile gently pats my cheek. “Darling, everyone is going to love you. You’ll see.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Oliver’s grip tightens again as he hugs me supportively. “Your friends will keep you safe,” he murmurs. “Cecile, me, Ren, Terrance, Parker, Gorgeous, Wulf, Rook…we’ll all be here keeping an eye on you. And I promised not to leave your side all night.”
I’m stunned by his words, though, not because I find it hard to believe they’ll look out for me. It’s just finally occurring to me that I have real, genuine friends. I’ve been alone for so long that having so many people who truly care about me seems impossible. But somehow I’ve managed to build a family of sorts. And with a crazy group of underworlders of all different races. They may be supernatural misfits, but they’re my friends. My family.
My eyes mist over, and my voice comes out raspy when I smile at Cecile and say, “Thank you for doing all of this for me.”
Cecile’s face softens. “You’re welcome, dear.” She claps her hands together, breaking the tender moment. “As adorable as the two of you are right now, it’s time for you to go get ready. Oliver, your tux is in Terrance’s private suite.”
The way Oliver cringes at the wordtuxis hilarious. “Oh, come on,” I tease him. “You wear a suit to work every day. A tux can’t be that different. And besides, since you’re my date for the evening, I need you looking extra hot so that no one will notice me.”
Oliver snorts. “Right. You could wear sweats and throw your hair in a ponytail, and you’ll still be the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”
He grins, proud of his cheesy line, and yet laughs about using it at the same time. After rolling my eyes at him, I shoot Cecile a hopeful look. “CanI wear sweats and a ponytail?”
Both Oliver and Cecile laugh.
Cecile herds us upstairs, shooing Oliver down to the end of the hall to Terrance’s room. “You’ll come get me, right?” I ask Oliver, my heart suddenly in my throat. “I won’t have to make my big entrance alone?”
“Of course not,” Cecile assures me as she ushers me into her suite. “A debutante always needs an escort.”
Relief floods me, but I still frown. “A debutante?”
“Why not? You’re coming out into underworld society. Is that not what a debutante is?”
“Honestly, I have no idea.”
Cecile follows me into her suite, laughing her light, tinkling laugh. She’s glowing with anticipation when she sits me at her vanity and begins to do my hair. After curling it into big, loopy curls, she piles all of it up on my head and fastens it with a pearl and diamond wreath thing that can’t decide if it’s a headband or a crown.
After applying my makeup—which she goes very heavy on, calling the eyes smoky—she hands me a pair of earrings that match my hairpiece and drapes a pearl and diamond necklace around my throat. The jewelry is the nicest thing I’ve ever worn, and I’m scared to move for fear of breaking it somehow.
Cecile smiles at me in the mirror. “Stunning.”
I can’t argue. I’ve never looked so beautiful in my life. And I’m not even wearing the dress yet.
She looks me over one more time, then turns her head toward the door as if listening. I’m not sure if succubi have better hearing than humans, but even I can hear the growing crowd mingling below us. “Can you manage the dress?” she asks. “I really should head down and greet the guests.”
When I nod, Cecile grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet. “Wait for me to welcome everyone, and then you and Oliver can come downstairs, all right? I’ll speak into a microphone. You’ll hear me. Promise you’ll wait for me to introduce you.”
I sigh. She’s determined for me to make a grand entrance. “All right. I’ll wait.”
Cecile’s face brightens, and she waltzes out to the room, blowing me air kisses. Once the door is closed behind her, I slowly make my way to the garment bag lying on the bed. I haven’t seen the dress yet. Cecile had my measurements taken, then insisted she surprise me. She had the dress made by a faerie seamstress and said she wove magic into it, so I have no idea what to expect.
The first thing I notice when I unzip the bag is that it’s white. I free it from the bag and gasp as I lay it carefully on the bed. It’sgorgeous. It looks like a wedding gown.
It’s easy to slip the dress on. It’s got thin straps lined with pearls and a low-cut back. It clings to me as if it were specifically designed for my figure. I suppose it was. It hugs my body and drapes from my hips to the floor, and has a small train. The whole thing is covered in delicate white lace with pearls woven into the fabric. It’s elegant and whimsical all at once, and definitely looks like something a faerie queen would wear.
I feel the slight tingling of magic. It’s different from the sorcerer magic around the club and at Terrance’s place. This magic is lighter somehow, airier, like a gentle summer breeze. I don’t realize what the magic does until I look in the floor-length mirror and see the soft sparkles making the entire dress shimmer. My breath catches. I’ve never seen anything like it.
