Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
He frowned at her. “And what accordingly?”
“None of your business.” (Usually, she allowed him in her head because it was comfortable, but sometimes, she naturally omitted things without realizing it until he wanted to know what shit she was talking about him.)
He leaned forward for a kiss and let it linger, his arms coming around her and holding her tightly.
“Stop.” She pushed away. “If you show too much affection, they’ll kill me for sport. You yourself told me this. Let’s keep our heads in the game.”
His hungry eyes watched her, but he let her increase the distance.
The dress had warm brown tones with hints of dusty rose. A subtle sheen overlaid a pattern that resembled delicate lace. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline with intricate black lace detailing that cascaded down the sides and center. It was formfitting, would allow for cleavage while hiding her knife, and was absolutely beautiful. She’d wear this in the human lands, no problem. Some thick-soled boots would be best for daytime wear, a delicate heel for nighttime, and who knew what he had available here?
“Jewelry?” She slipped off her servant’s dress.
He blew out a breath and turned around. “Warn me when you’re going to do that.”
He couldn’t handle her nakedness any better than her touch.
She smiled to herself as she looked over the underwear options. She wouldn’t use anything for her bottom half in case he wanted to make a show, but she needed something in which to store her knife. For that, she grabbed something similar to a strapless bra in the human world. He must’ve had that made up specially for her and the knife.
The dress had a shoestring contraption in the back that was a decoy. Along the side was sewn a zipper that blended in seamlessly.
“Is this the fashion, or does the dress have human embellishments?”
“The zipper is from the human lands. I figured you wouldn’t want to be strapped into a dress in case you needed to fight.”
“Ladies here don’t fight?”
“Not when they are dressed for court. They have bodyguards, servants, and eyes on them. They don’t leave anything to chance. Neither do the males.”
“Yet they still die.”
“Not at court. Not in front of witnesses.”
Ah. It was leaving court or showing up to court that was treacherous. The corridors and hallways, the gardens and promenades, posed the danger. They had rules here.
She’d need to exploit those rules.
“Jewelry?” she asked again.
“No. Jewelry is stitched on the clothes of nobles—we use the general term of nobles for anyone of noble birth or higher. When speaking about gentry, though, which is the highest layer of wealth and privilege, we only say gentry. Royalty is in a tier of their own.” He paused to make sure she had it, then went on. “Male nobles have the jewelry stitched in, as I said, and the females can also wear it about their person, like humans. Anyone lesser than a noble is plain, as befits their station.”
“Champions are plain?”
“Yes, unless they are of noble birth and trying to rise above their defined station.”
She cocked her head, thinking that through. “I’m a human. I should be different. Not as a toy, maybe, but as a champion. If I try to blend in, I’ll look ridiculous. Besides, you told the king I was a joke. Dress me as a joke.”
He turned to study her. “Of course. You should have human fashion.”
“That would be ideal, but do you have female human garments lying around?”
He put his hands on his hips, and his eyes went distant. He stepped out of the dressing room. “Does anyone still have any of the human clothes I brought back as gifts? Female human clothes.”
“Ohh, busted!” one of the guys shouted.
“I do!” one of the ladies said. “I think. I don’t usually throw gifts away. You never know when it might be useful.”
“I…may,” someone else said uncertainly. “I do love presents, but…you know…where would I wear it?”
Turned out that a couple dresses hadn’t been thrown away or used as rags. They’d been tossed in trunks and were horribly wrinkled, all of them from a couple years and many fashion seasons ago, but they were salvageable. The court would think they were as weird as the Fallen had. Only Tarian and Daisy knew his impeccable taste.
When she was choosing between them, she tsked and shook her head. “I don’t have time for the alterations these need. We’ll have to sew them smaller, and I’ll pass off the length as purposeful.”
Tarian pulled a small trunk from a high shelf and set it on a round table. He flicked two clasps and lifted the lid. Jewelry glittered in the glowing orbs of the dressing room, diamonds and rubies and big-ticket items.
“When searching for the chalices, I grabbed anything of value that was easy to carry,” he said by way of explanation. “I stored them in case I ever got out of here. If my family doesn’t take me back, any wealth I possess will be stolen. It’s not pretty, but—”