Page 40 of Wings and Shadowthief

Tris, for her part, could have lived in gear. The huntsman light armor suited her to a tee—especially the new version she now wore. She looked comfortable and badass. That said, her family sent her suitcases filled with new clothes every season. Formal dresses, pretty skirts, tons of leather, silk, and lace. Gwen had to concede they attempted to respect Tris's style, picking dark colors and earth tones, but Tris just didn’t care to wear anything that wasn’t meant to kick rogue ass in.

Thankfully, they were the same size. Gwen had borrowed the occasional top. There was no discussion: silk was considerably superior to cotton and elastane.

“About that.” Tris smiled tightly. “You can have it.”

Gwen tilted her head.

“My wardrobe,” her friend clarified. “Most of it. Hell, all of it.”

Tris’s generosity was kind, but Gwen was already shaking her head. No way. She might not be the legacy of a line of wealthy hunters on one side and a royal vampire line on the other, but she was no charity case either.

“You’d be doing me a favor,” Tris insisted. “I have to get rid of it. My sister’s sending me more clothes soon.”

Gwen paused, shocked. “Your sister? As in, Evil Pamelia?”

That didn’t compute. From what Tris had told her, they were always at each other’s throats. Pam was the perfect daughter, the perfect fledgling, and enjoyed nothing more than pointing out Tris’s flaws.

Tris chuckled. “Yeah. We’re good now.”

“Did the Earth spin off its axis?” She was going to need a lot more than that. Gwen took Tris’s hand and guided her to her bed, sitting up on top of it. “Spill.”

Tris had never seemed this awkward to her. Her gaze was usually fixed forward, steady and sure. Now she looked out the window, avoiding Gwen’s stare. “You know I hated how she made me look bad, right? Well, she hated the freedom I had. Mom and Dad didn’t really know what to do with their first kid. They were controlling and severe. Second-best didn’t exist for Pam. Then I came along, and they figured out they could give me some room to make mistakes. I never thought about it from her point of view. I’d be pissed at me, too.”

The admission was surprisingly mature of Tris. Gwen didn’t think she could ever rationalize her relationship with her sibling the same way. Gwen’s brother, Gweltaz, was given everything he wanted and never obligated to do anything at all. His magic was just as it should be, just like their parents. He was the golden child to her ugly duckling. She didn’t even want to think about what things were like in his shoes.

“Okay…so you let her shop for you?”

Tris shook her head. “We went shopping together, actually. I’m not very good at picking out stuff—unless we’re talking about boots.”

Gwen sighed wistfully at the thought of replacing her wardrobe on a whim like that. “And you want to get rid of everything you have? That’s a bit—”

“They’re girl’s clothes,” Tris blurted out. “I’m not. A girl, that is.”

Gwen opened her mouth and closed it again. “So, you’re saying I get your dresses? Because I’m going to have to pick them up, like now.”

Tris let out a tight laugh. “Well, you’re my size. Knock yourself out. They probably all still have tags on.”

She hugged her friend, and together they went to her room to transfer all Tris’s clothes to Gwen’s closet, while chatting about Seth’s insane plan, Blair’s cat, and whether she realized yet that the feline was going to end up belonging to Seth, and of course, the fact that there was a chance they’d all die by the end of the weekend.

At least Gwen would go in style.

Shadow Thief

Jack’s reflection didn’t quite look like himself. His eyes were too bright. He’d grown older in the last few days. Lack of sleep wasn’t exactly agreeing with him.

“What do you want?”

No answer came from his lips. He wasn’t that insane. Yet.

He brushed his teeth, forcing his gaze away from the stranger staring back in the mirror.

He always had issues concentrating on academic work before a mission, but they wouldn’t be leaving for Italy until the weekend. Might as well get some work done on his thesis before then.

He liked the thought of ridding the world of the queen before leaving Oldcrest. Returning to London with Aveka looming over the territory might have felt like abandoning his friends. What he didn’t like was the team he was supposed to work with. People who’d never worked together, amateurs without discipline or experience.

And Gwen.

He didn’t want to worry about Gwen being in the field while watching his own back.

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