Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“Hey, my dick is clean!” he shouts as I leave the room. “Don’t you put that on me. It’s not my fault they love me.”
I can’t help laughing on my way up the stairs.
THREE
WILLOW
The week leading up to Armistice Night is a whirlwind.
I’ve never felt busier, and the busyness reminds me of when I’d worked for Lou Ann with all the planning, chatting, setting up, and driving just to get things done.
Thinking of Lou Ann sort of breaks my heart, but only because it leads me to thinking about Faye too. I didn’t care so much about quitting my job or leaving the apartment, and it seemed Lou Ann was scouting for someone to fill my position anyway. But leaving my best friend was a different story.
I’d decided after Warren and his mate Danica went to Kessel that I would stay in Vakeeli. I’d returned to Earth once after they’d departed so I could formally quit my job and let Faye know I’d be leaving.
Caz stuck to his promise and found a way for me to stay in touch with Faye, but I can only talk to her once a week through a pocket mirror.
An elder mythic had created it, and I’d taken one with me before my final visit with Faye so she could have it.
In the mirror, Faye is a colorless version of herself, and we’re only allowed eight minutes per contact. That’s all the mythic can manage per day before his energy wanes, seeing as Earth is a whole universe away.
I miss her more and more each day. I miss our movie nights and when we’d read together. I miss helping her in Lit and Latte’s and taking croissants and hot chocolate home.
I can’t think about too much of that right now though, not with so much to do.
“Vakeeli’s sake, Jun, I thought this would never end,” Maeve gripes as she folds her arms.
We’ve spent two days in Vanora all so Juniper can find the perfect dress. She’d scoured shop after shop, rack after rack, before finally settling on one: an emerald off-the-shoulder beauty with ruby rhinestones embellishing the waist.
“It had to be perfect!” Juniper stands on a pedestal with her winning gown on, grinning.
The thigh split is higher than I’d be comfortable with, but Juniper doesn’t mind at all. She had it altered this way, and the designer is currently marking where she’ll be adding more rubies to the bosom as a final touch.
The bell above the door chimes, and a sweet breeze floats into the parlor as the queen of Vanora herself waltzes in.
Dressed head to toe in ivory with a glittering gold crown atop her head is our good friend Alora. Her dark hair is braided into a fishtail that swims down the center of her back.
Proll and another queen’s guard are right behind her, peering around the shop with hawkish gazes.
“There you are!” Alora says in her sing-song voice. “How long have you all been here?”
“It’s going on three hours now, I’m sure,” Maeve tells the queen with an eyeroll. Maeve has already found a dress: a red gown, of course. Satin, simple, and off-the-shoulder.
“Mylin,” Alora calls, and the designer—a fair-skinned woman with bright hazel eyes—stops working on Juniper’s dress immediately to give the queen her attention.
“Yes, your majesty?”
“My apologies for interrupting, but do you know if my gown has been altered yet?”
“It has, my queen. Rocco has just gone out to deliver it to the palace. Is that okay?”
“Wonderful. Perfectly fine, dear.” Alora’s eyes shift to me. “And what about my darling Willow? What will she be wearing?”
Mylin smiles and points a knowing finger in the air. “I have the perfect dress for the Lady Monarch of Blackwater.”
Several minutes later, Mylin is walking from a back room carrying a white garment bag by the hanger.
She hangs it on an empty rack and says, “Now that Miss Juniper has been sorted, I can happily show you this, Willow.”
As soon as she unzips the bag, black tulle spills out in a glittery rush. When she removes the dress completely and unruffles it, my eyes expand.
“I knew from the moment I saw you that this dress would be the one.” Mylin smiles, looking from me to the dress again.
“Oh, it’s stunning!” Alora claps with the tips of her fingers.
“Absolutely gorgeous,” Maeve adds.
“Caz is going to be hard for you all night.” Juniper’s statement makes me snort a laugh.
“Forever crass,” Alora laughs.
The gown is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A black off-the-shoulder design, sheer sleeves, and a silky corset top. The bottom half falls into luxurious tulle waves that grace the floor, but that’s not what catches my attention most. It’s the stars embroidered into the dress. They’re no larger than a dime, but the detail even from where I stand is impeccable, and they shimmer beneath the chandeliers like stars in the night sky.