Page 92 of Twisted Gift

“Dad!” I slap his shoulder. “I don’t want you spending your money on me.”

“Please let us do this for you, honey,” Mom cuts in, moving to stand beside Dad. She reaches for my hands and squeezes them. “We are unbelievably proud of everything you’ve accomplished, so please, let us make your special day everything you want it to be.”

This isn’t a battle I’m going to win.

I sigh. “Okay,” I finally say.

They pull me into a hug, and they each kiss one of my cheeks. “We love you so much, Aurora.”

“I love you, too.”

Back in the dressing room, with the clerk’s assistance, I reluctantly take the dress off. I’m putting my shirt back on when my phone starts buzzing in my purse. I pull it out and smile, my stomach giving a healthy flutter.

“Hey, you,” I murmur.

“I’m sorry to call you, sweetheart. I know you’re with your parents.”

My stomach drops, any remnants of butterflies squashed by the tone in his voice. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”

“We’re all okay. The fae have come together to discuss the changes that are happening, and I think it’s something you should be here for.”

I exhale. “Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I grab the rest of my things and finish getting dressed. Handing the dress to the clerk as I walk out of the dressing room, I let her know I’ll have to come back for it later. She assures me it’s no problem—probably because my dad already paid for it—and takes my name and number to set it aside for me.

“I’m really sorry, but I have to head to the hotel. Something about an event mix-up. Everyone is freaking out.”

Mom laughs. “I didn’t know you went to business school to become an event planner.”

Dad elbows her. “Not to worry, kiddo. We understand. If you don’t mind, I’d like to explore the city a bit more, and maybe if your mother behaves herself, I’ll take her to a nice dinner.”

“Thank you for everything. I’ll call you later.” I hug them both and hurry out of the store, grabbing the first cab I see.

The new receptionist smiles at me from behind the front desk, but I fly past her before she can so much as say hello. She hurries over to where I’m standing, tapping my foot as I wait for the elevator.

“Miss Marshall,” she says.

“Hi,” I say, hitting the button again.

“Mr. Westbrook asked me to let you know that they’re meeting in the ballroom.”

“Thank you,” I say, turning around and rushing for the ballroom.

I throw the doors open and find the room full of fae. My eyes bounce along the rows of mostly familiar faces.

“Nice of you to join us,” Nikolai says with a wry grin.

I flip him off as I approach my group of friends who are standing at the front of the room. “Sorry, I was—” I cut myself off before I slip up and tell them I bought a wedding dress. “What’s going on?” I ask, directing the question at Tristan.

“They’ve elected new leaders,” he tells me.

My eyes widen. “Oh?” I look out over the fae. No one seems surprised. They’ve already accepted that Tristan is no longer fae, it seems. That, or I missed the uproar it caused. “Who?”

Allison steps around Tristan. “The fae have elected Nikolai Sterling and Skylar Chen as acting leaders. One from each of the previous sides.”

“We are no longer light and dark,” Skylar says in a commanding voice. She looks so much better than the last time I saw her. Her hair is neatly curled down her back, her makeup is perfect like I’m used to seeing it, and her outfit is sleek and sharp. I missed this Skylar. As much as she still kind of intimidates me, she is also admirable as hell. “However,” she continues, “we have agreed that our people should still have leaders. Nikolai and I know what needs to be done and how to make our people proud by keeping them safe and happy. That being said, everyone’s voices are welcome. We want to hear what you have to say if it will make a positive difference for the fae. You elected representatives before. Use them. Go to them with your concerns if you can’t get to Nikolai or me, and they will make sure your concerns are handled.”

The room full of fae seems pleased with her speech. They’re nodding along, intently listening to what she has to say. With that, she dismisses the crowd, but the rest of us stick around.

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