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“You are one kickbutt elf,” I tell my reflection with a proud smile. I hope Liam flips when he sees me.
Gathering my stuff, I make my way out of the bathroom and find Liam waiting outside. I freeze when I take him in. He’s dressed as Torenin, the human who’s hopelessly in love with Aleriana, even though they aren’t allowed to be together. Aren’t forbidden romances the best? Liam looksAMAZING. He’s wearing a long black wig that reaches his mid-back, and his costume is the famous one Torenin wore when he rescued Aleriana from that awful prison. It’s a torn green shirt and brown pants. Liam is wearing a green shirt underneath because the shirt has so many holes, but the look is perfect. He’s also got his signature bow and arrow hanging off his back.
As if he feels me gawking, his eyes flit in my direction. And he just stares at me, eyes and mouth widening with every passing second. I turn around, thinking he’s gaping at someone behind me, but there’s nothing there but the bathroom.
“Chloe.” He strides over and lifts his hand like he wants to touch my face. “Oh my gosh. You look phenomenal.”
With my cheeks sizzling, I give him a shy smile. “Thanks. You look phenomenal, too. I love the costume. And the wig. It’s perfect.”
“Your costume is perfect. And your wig is perfect, too. And oh my gosh, are those elf ears?”
I push my wig aside to show him my pointy ears. “Amanda showed me how to use makeup to blend them in with my natural skin color. Do they look real?”
“Heck yeah. You’re the prettiest and most kickbutt Aleriana I’ve ever seen!”
Every part of me lights up like Torenin shot me with a fire arrow. I don’t know why it makes me feel so good that Liam likes the way I look.
“We need to take a selfie.” Liam reaches for his phone. We both smile at the camera and snap a few photos.
Two women who are dressed as other characters from the show stop and stare at us. “You guys make the cutest Aleriana and Torenin. Want me to take a photo of you?”
“That would be great, thanks.” Liam hands her his phone.
“But you need to change your pose,” her friend says, stepping over to us. “Aleriana and Torenin are madly in love.” She pushes me closer to Liam until my back hits his torso. She takes Liam’s arm and wraps it around my middle. Then she takes my hand and places it on Liam’s cheek. “Now stare at each other as though you’re madly in love and can’t live without each other.”
The area where Liam’s arm is wrapped around my waist burns. I feel tingly all over at how close his face is to mine. How close his lips are to mine. He stares down into my eyes and I stare up into his, getting lost in them. His costume brings out his beautiful gray eyes.
“That’sperfect.”
I hear her snap a few photos. When she’s done, I tear my gaze away from Liam and notice that a few other people have crowded around us, too, each of them complimenting us on our costumes.
“Cute couple in real life as well,” an older woman says with a wink as she passes by.
I slowly move my eyes to Liam, and he slowly moves his eyes to me. I laugh lightly. He does, too.
“We should head in,” he says.
“Yeah.”
Because that woman mentioned the word “couple,” the only thing that flashes in my head is the secret admirer. It’s like for a few minutes, I forgot all about him and was living in bliss. But now it all comes crashing down on me, and my body fills with the loss of what could have been.
I stop walking and drop down on a bench outside the entrance to the main room.
“Chloe?” Liam lowers himself next to me. “What happened? Is it the crowd? Xavier warned me that there would be a lot of people here.”
I shake my head. “It’s not the crowd. Sorry. I just got sad all of a sudden.”
“What made you sad? Do you wish Lily and Xavier were here? It sucks they’re missing out on this, but I want them to be there for Spencer.”
I shake my head again. “It’s him…the…you know. That woman said ‘couple’ and it reminded me of him. He hasn’t written me anything in days. I told myself to forget about him, but I can’t seem to let him go.”
Liam is quiet for a bit, then slides his hand into mine and squeezes it. “I can’t tell you how to feel. But I can tell you that we can have loads of fun here. Me, you, and the entireSwords and Legendsuniverse. Is there any way you can forget about the guy just for today? Because you’re not Chloe Barrington and I’m not Liam Hastings. You’re Aleriana and I’m Torenin.”
I search his eyes as his words make sense in my head. He’s right. Liam and I traveled all the way here to have fun at this event. I can’t let the guy dictate my happiness. I can’t let him take this moment with Liam away from me.
Squeezing his hand and offering him a thankful smile, I say, “You’re right. I’m here with you, my lovely Torenin. For today, we won’t stress about our real lives. We’re just going to have fun and enjoy spending the day together.”
He grins. “That’s much better.”
