Page 74 of A Broken Promise

“Happy Death Day, Finn!” She smiled as she landed a kiss on my cheek and pulled her hair from underneath her shirt.

“Happy Death Day, Bea!” I saluted back, though it still felt wrong to say those words each time.Happy Death Day. Happy. Death. Except there was nothing happy about Death. Maybe for the dying? To finally be free. But for the living? There was no happiness in knowing that you were left behind to never see them again.

Priya’s office was empty. I strolled in and finally dropped the two large boxes on top of her desk.

“Do you ever notice how after you orgasm you get so damn thirsty?” Priya’s raspy voice sounded behind me. I turned to see her bare body in an open silk robe.

“Maybe?” My eyebrows rose unsure.

“Perhaps I will put a little drinking fountain by my bed. Like the ones little hamsters have. I could just sip away, staying hydrated while enjoying my orgy.” She leaned against the door taking a sip of her water in a wine cup.

“Who am I to be a naysayer? I just ask to see the face of that handy man installing a giant rodent drinking tube by your luxurious bed.” I smirked, stepping aside from her desk. Priya walked towards the table. One click. The tiny razor blade appeared from the top of her large ring.The sharp edge cut through the hand-sewn red ribbons, tightly covering the box.

She threw the lid on the floor, exposing the most gorgeous fabric I had ever seen. Laviticus didn’t lie when he said that these kinds of darks would suck the light from the room. She glanced over the small note he included, quickly chucking it, and pulled out her mesmerizing dress.

I leaned back on the desk, resting my hands on the edge.

“This is gorgeous, Priya!” I exclaimed.

Her full lips stretched in contentment. “Laviticus rarely disappoints, am I right?” Priya ran her fingers down the fabric. It was a suit; the most opulent suit, I realized. “I think he dreamed of designing dresses for the High Ladies of the Esnox but got burned and tortured instead. Really, such a shame. Just imagine what he could’ve done if he wasn’t such a little monster?”

I held back my rising quarrel.

“He is no monster, Priya. He is beyond talented, and I don’t think his looks have anything to do with that.” I wanted to say so much more but I stayed quiet.

“Whatever, Freckles. We leave come sundown, unless your dumbass boyfriend arrives sooner.” With that, she dragged on the detachable skirt to trail her suit and walked out of the office, leaving the door wide open.

I waited until she was gone to reach for my box. Anticipation boiled in me. I wanted to rip the box, to tear off those ribbons and finally see, but my anxious hands cut the ribbon with surgical precision.

Dark purple satin intertwined with black mesh, sparkling with glittery silver threads. The heavy fabric jerked my arms down as I pulled the dress out. The top was thick and corseted tight with silver embroidered ornaments and decorated with all kinds of tiny diamonds. The skirt was slick, fraying past my knees into a long tail.

A silver lined galaxy, indeed.

This dress was beyond gorgeous. A masterpiece. How did he createit? The materials and the craftsmanship of this was not even comparable to the most one-of-a-kind boutiques of Svitar.

This was art.

I was in complete awe, yet also filled with intimidation. I would do no justice for this dress. No, this masterpiece would be worthy of only a queen, or even a goddess, to wear, not a runaway slave.

I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the dress. Small rainbows danced on the ceiling from the astonishing sparkle of the diamonds. So many thoughts were piling, flooding in my head.

Finally, I lowered my dress, wrapping it over my forearm like a hanger as I lowered it back in the box, pausing just to move the large, white silk it was wrapped in. Suddenly, my heart stopped. My hands froze. I didn’t dare blink. Not when I saw it.

Underneath the thick layers of silk was a large, black, glass arrow and a dagger with the obsidian glass blade and a note.

I recognized the arrow immediately.

Ever since I saw it that day on the wall of the Silken Arrow, my dreams were occupied with launching it into the heart of the Destroyer General. At times, those dreams were so vivid that I woke up with my arms stretched in the air, as if holding a bow.

The never-ending dreams with the Destroyer General might have started as nightmares but now that I knew I had a way to kill him… no, they weren’t nightmares anymore. Each time we faced each other in my dreams, I was no longer filled with dread but determination, insatiable hunger, and one purpose: to kill him.

It was something I was too afraid to admit to myself; even in those dreams, I was filled with something I had thought I lost long ago. Hope.

Basalt Glass reflected the welcoming rays of sun beaming through the sheer curtains. I reached for it, though my hand stopped midair. I jerked my head to the open door behind me. Priya was so close in the hall.Too close.

I quickly shoved the dress back in the box and walked as casually as possible out of the office and down to my room, locking the door. Locks might not stop Priya, but it would give me time.

Rushing to my bed, I set aside the dress, pausing. I took a second look at the Basalt Glass in front of me. The note card was almost empty with just a few words scribbled in perfect handwriting.

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