Page 46 of Angel of Water & Shadow

I tried not to flinch, but hearing the M-word was like taking a sip of a too-hot drink.

Mau’s heels echoed off the concrete as she left the rubber mats behind the counter. “Let me get a good look at you. C’mon, don’t be scared.”

I rose from my chair, cringing as my butt peeled away like it’d been stuck to the surface. I wished I would’ve checked a mirror before I left Ryder’s, or at any point before being put on display here. Mau didn’t seem to notice, or at least didn’t seem care, as she circled around me, humming in deep introspection.

She brought her palms together, her amethyst nails steepled against her bright red lips. “I can work with this.”

Oh great! My stained jeans, scraped cheek, and hair that probably looked like a rat’s nest didn’t sabotage my potential for whatever it was that came next.

“Hand me my bag.” Mau gestured to her friend and then returned her focus to me. “Now, kitten, this may hurt a bit, but I know what I’m doing. Just call me your fairy gothmother.”

Signaling my consent, not that I had a chance to protest anyways, Mau pulled at my roots and suffocated me with dry shampoo. I winced as she got out her tweezers, seeing stars after a hefty plucking. A cool towelette calmed the burn, and per the artist’s directive I rubbed in some primer and tinted moisturizer. She pulled out an earring gun.

I shielded my lobes. “I already have them pierced but thank you.”

Her finger rested on the trigger. “Care for another one?” With her free hand, she tucked my hair behind my ear, exposing my cartilage.

I shook my head no. The scorches from her curling wand had been enough.

“Suit yourself.” She handed me a pair of oversized gold hoops instead.

Hair sprayed, face contoured, and tied into my clothes—Mau knotted the bottom of my t-shirt so it fit snugger, and it cropped even higher—I breathed in the scent of vanilla and coconut. She’d really worked magic. Then she tossed me a piece of fabric. “Try this on, but put it under the hand dryer for a sec. Let’s keep the high tops; those are sick.”

I went to the bathroom, beyond thankful tonight’s invitation didn’t require an attempt to walk in some surprise stilettos. If I had to ditch my Vans, I’d never agree to this.

Letting out a breath in the urinal-equipped room of freedom, I peeked in the splotchy mirror. Despite Mau’s clear preferences for dramatic winged liner and a bold lip, I still looked…myself. Myself with tamer brows, a hint of bronzer, a silkiness to my golden split ends, and a powdered beige sparkle to my lids. I ran a finger along my cheek—the scratch left by the teratorn’s claw completely invisible behind a few dabs of concealer.

After I smeared some tinted gloss onto my lips, I held the pleated skirt Mau had gifted me beneath the heat to let it iron out the wrinkles and laced the bows on each side. Smooth enough, I slipped it on, and it sat a little higher than my belly button—but it still didn’t reach my top.

Bearing an unusual confidence and an equally exposed midriff, I made my grand reveal.

Shanley had her companion pinned up against the register, too invested in the taste of her neck to notice my entrance. I cleared my throat and they parted.

“Not bad for using an automatic dryer.” Shanley beamed. “Babe, she looks incredible.”

“Thank you.” With my arms awkwardly stiff at my sides, it might not have sounded too convincing when I said, “I like it.” But truly, I did. I was just used to a more boho look. This was jarring, and sexy, and it was different. But for a night, it allowed me to play someone else—and after the day I’d had, someone else was exactly who I needed to be.

“Looks like my work here is done. See you there.” Grabbing her designer duffel, Mau strutted out, giving me, her muse, a final, “Bye, kitten.”

I watched my fairy gothmother parade across the courtyard until she disappeared.

Shanley appeared behind me in the window’s reflection, twirling the mop. “Ready to rock ‘n roll?”

Decked in a smile and a makeover that rivaled Cinderella’s, I grinned. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter 16

Shanley patrolled the rows of cars parked every which way in the dirt. After circling a few times, she backed her Honda up to another’s bumper, leaving less than an inch for them to reverse.

A bush impeded my own exit. Worried I’d scratch her car, I opened the door a crack and shimmied through the sliver of space. I didn’t think she noticed—she was already out, her gaze glued to the stars. I smoothed the wrinkles from my skirt and joined her. There were no streetlamps out here, but the hoots and hollers gave a clear path to where we should go.

Her bright eyes reflected the Milky Way’s glow. “Ready?”

I nodded, though my stomach dipped in equal parts fear and anticipation as we trotted down the bluff. I tried to match Shanley’s eager strides; her excitement provided a shield against my anxiety—but that hit me the second I fell behind.

What if she forgot about me once we hit the party and left me to fend for myself? Large group settings weren’t my strong suit. All the overlapping threads of conversation tangled in my mind and made it hard for my thoughts to reach my lips. In similar situations, Javi had been there for me to grab on to when it all got to be a bit too much.

I couldn’t exactly latch on to my new coworker’s arm for the night. That’d be weird. I sucked in a breath. Three hours to midnight and with no cell service, my fate was written in the stars above. I’d be alone, I’d be stuck, there was no way I’d make curfew?—

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