Page 31 of Daughter of the Ninth Line: Part Two

But while a conscript from the Twelfth Line at the door of the First Line dorm would have been turned away immediately, maybe even ridiculed, Acacia welcomed Shay into the dorm. “Sure. Want a drink?” Acacia’s voice was warm, almost a purr, and I frowned at her. That was weird.

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.” The rigid formality in Shay’s tone sounded wrong down here.

Acacia laughed. “No worries.” As my friend walked toward the kitchen, I noted the way that Shay’s gaze ran over the other woman’s curves, before they shot back to my face.

I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Instead, I gave her a warm smile. “I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I assume you’re down here for me?”

It was then that I noticed the black cardboard box suspended in the air beside her. Shay heaved an annoyed groan. “I’ve beensent as an errand girl, yet again. This is from Vox.” She floated the box to me, and as I took it from the air, she dropped her magic’s hold on it. It fell lightly into my arms.

I placed it on the long, communal table, and the rest of the Twelfth gathered around, like this was a present for us all, rather than just for me. Instead of feeling annoyed, I felt… loved.

Shifting off the lid, I separated the folds of tissue paper. Inside was a dress. Not just any dress, though. It was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen. A midnight-blue gown in a fabric so light, it felt almost unreal. It had a bodice that threaded at the back with silky ribbon, and a knee-length skirt that defied gravity, pooling like mist.

“Wow,” I breathed, and Viana gripped my arm.

“Do you know what thatis?”

I slid my eyes to her. “A dress?”

She shook me gently. “Not just any dress. That’s a Liliana Ingmire original. She creates the fabric herself from some plant that’s a giant secret. That dress is so expensive, it could feed my entire village for a year.” She fingered the skirt, her eyes wide. “Maybe two years. It’s so beautiful.”

Acacia snorted. “Did I just watch Viana fall in love?” she teased, coming to stand beside Shay and handing her a glass of their homebrewed liquor. It was so strong that it put me on my ass every time I drank a single glass. “It is very pretty.” She seemed almost disapproving, with none of the awe that was in Viana’s expression. I understood her reaction; it was a flagrant excess when they could barely eat, which was a little tone-deaf.

“Liliana is a bitch, but she makes pretty clothes, I guess,” Shay agreed. “I’d rather a set of daggers from the metalsmiths of the Eleventh Line, though.”

Acacia raised a brow. “You don’t think the First Line smiths could do better?”

The staring match between them was intense. “It has nothing to do with Line and everything to do with skill. Metalworking is in the bones of the Eleventh Line.”

They continued to stare at each other, and I realized that they weren’t antagonizing each other at all. They were… flirting? I mean, it was a weird form of flirting, but it seemed to work for them.

Viana smirked in their direction, but then her eyes caught on the dress again. “Go and try it on! I need to see how it looks on you before I go crazy.” She shoved me toward her room, and I went, carefully carrying the dress. It was the nicest thing I’d ever owned, but what did it mean?

Quickly shedding my own clothes, I held my breath as I pulled the dress up over my ass and hips. It seemed to defy gravity, floating around me. There were no sleeves, but I couldn’t pull the ribbons tight at the back.

“Viana?” I called, and she burst in before I’d even finished her name. She’d definitely been standing just on the other side of the door. She slammed it as she strode into the room, a gasp on her lips.

“You look like aqueen,” she breathed, then came around behind me, gripping the ribbon laces. “Now breathe in, Your Majesty, because you’re about to bring the entire kingdom to their knees with this waistline.”

An hour later, Viana had strapped me into the dress and used little rods warmed on the stovetop to curl my hair. Acacia had dragged me out to the main room and done my makeup with an artful hand, and I’d been surprised to see Shay still there. Her eyes ran over me, and she gave a satisfied nod.

“Okay, maybe I see it. You look good, Ninth.” High praise from the surly First Liner indeed.

I grinned at her. “Thanks, Shay.”

She climbed from the couch, walking over to place her glass in the sink like she’d been to the bowels a hundred times before. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said politely, but she wasn’t looking at Viana or the others. Her eyes were snagged on Acacia.

“Visit anytime,” Acacia purred.

Shay dipped her chin. “I’ll see you on the beach.” Her gaze was on me now, but she was clearly talking to Acacia.

Oh, yeah. Definitely flirting.

Shay’s departure was like a kicked ant nest. People were running around everywhere. Acacia finished my makeup, then disappeared into her room to change. At some point during my grand makeover, the rest of the Twelfth Line had gotten ready for our first ever Line party and they looked festive in their brightly colored clothes, dyed with plants native to their region. Viana had told me what plants they used to make each color, but honestly, I had no clue what any of them were. Botany hadn’t been my forte during my tutelage back home.

I smiled at my new friends, these people who’d accepted me so easily. “You guys look great.”

Viana slung an arm around my shoulders, careful not to muss my hair. “Not as great as you do. Let’s go stun the heck out of a Heir or two, shall we?” She led us from the room, and as we climbed the stairs, more and more of the Lower Line conscripts joined us.

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