Page 7 of Tik-Tok

Shutting her eyes, still throwing pretend axes, North tried to stop feeling sorry for herself. To pretend as though she’d never gone to see Birch or had her first kiss, and more, with a male she didn’t love. At least she would get to see Ozma, Jack, and Brielle soon.

North pulled dress after dress after dress from her traveling trunk. Each one ended up on the floor of her bedroom in the Emerald City Palace. Loose, poofy, tight, awful, awful, awful—nothing ever fit right. A knock came at her door, making her drop the fabric.

“Come in,” she called, not bothering to look up when the door creaked open.

“You’re not dressed?” Thelia gasped.

North whirled around to find her mother, perfect as ever. Thelia’s chestnut hair fell to her shoulders and a silver dress covered in sparkling jewels concealed her body, the cloth of the arms flaring out at the ends. She bet her mother had been dressed for hours, tapping her fingers together while waiting for the event to start. Her gaze dropped to Thelia’s swollen belly. North would have a sibling soon, and this child might possibly have magic. She hoped her sibling would, so he or she wouldn’t have to feel the way North did. North already had a softness for the child—she’d always wanted a sibling. But it had taken her parents a long while to conceive again, and they’d thought it would never happen. Then twenty years later it had.

“I don’t have anything good enough to wear.” North blew out a hard breath, pushing the silver locks away from her face. Even after everything that had happened with Birch, she wanted to appear beautiful for him. Not like a child.

“Let me help you then,” Thelia said, pity forming in her brown eyes. In that expression, North knew something was wrong.

“What is it?” North asked, picking up the dresses from the floor.

“Birch is engaged to Gemma.”

“I heard he was going to propose.” And she supposed he had.

“Are you all right?” Her mother pressed her lips together, and North could tell she was worried about her.

North took a deep swallow, tears brimming at her eyes, and she shook her head. She hated that she needed someone, but right then, she really needed her mother. North dropped the dresses and threw her arms around Thelia, holding her tight. “I thought… I thought…”

“I know. I’ve always known,” Thelia said softly, stroking North’s hair. “And if I’d known Birch had fallen in love, I would have warned you.”

Love… North’s heart felt as if it had just spilled out of her chest and dropped to the floor with a sickening plop. She lifted her head and peered up at her mother, determined. “Can you at least help me look as though I’m worthy?”

“You’re the worthiest female in all of Oz.” Thelia smiled and turned North around. “Let me start with your hair.” With practiced motions, she began to braid her daughter’s hair.

North kept quiet as Thelia styled the top half of her hair into a full crown, pressing flowers into sections from the vases on her nightstand. The rest of her locks hung just past her shoulders. Thelia took a silk dress of deep purple, handed it to North to put on, then said she would be right back.

After North finished slipping on the purple silk, Thelia returned with a few things to accentuate it. A sheer copper skirt to layer the bottom half of the dress, then a soft chestnut leather piece that covered her shoulders and arms, leaving a gap of bare skin above the tight bodice of her gown.

“There.” Thelia grinned, taking a step back. “Beautiful as always.”

North turned to peer at herself in the oval mirror hanging on the emerald wall. Within the glass, she still appeared childlike, due to her height, heart-shaped face, and doe eyes. All she could focus on were her flaws and how, if anything, she was possibly cute. But beautiful…? “It’s perfect,” she lied to her mother.

Thelia clapped her hands and drew North into a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mother.” North wished she could be like Thelia, but she knew she would never live up to it. And her mother’s heart was so brilliant that she would love North with all her flaws and misgivings anyway.

“We have a celebration to attend.” Thelia waved North to follow her out of the room, then walked beside her down the emerald hall. North’s heart pumped with elation at finally getting to see Brielle for the first time. Ozma and Jack hadn’t arrived at the palace yet—they’d been at their secret cottage for the last month.

As she descended the steps, her hand touching the cool glistening marble of the banister—she wished that she were still high from the emerald powder. She didn’t think she could handle seeing Birch with his betrothed this evening.

Music floated through the air, fiddles and flutes, swift and gorgeous. Laughter accompanied the welcoming sounds. With each step, the noise grew until she reached the bottom of the stairs, her gaze falling on a crowd of various fae filling the ballroom. Even in a space cluttered with bodies, she spotted Birch’s tall frame and blond hair across the room right away.

North stood on her tiptoes to see if anyone was beside him—her cousin—but she couldn’t tell.

“Get closure,” Thelia whispered, knowing, and patted her shoulder. “I’ll see you in a while.

Closure. Perhaps that was what she needed. He was still her friend, even though she would war with herself about wanting more.

North nodded and skirted around bodies dressed in fine spider silk gowns, decorative head coverings, shoes of the finest leather. Chandeliers of silver and green hung from the ceilings, and along the walls were paintings of the various territories of Oz. She followed the high archway of the ceiling until she came upon Birch. Thankfully, he was alone, guarding the area, a sword at his hip and his bow across his chest. His hooves were bare, and he wore a light gray tunic and tan pants.

He met North’s stare, cocked his head at her and smiled, his eyes dancing playfully—even though he knew what she’d confessed to him. How she’d looked a fool.

“Does this mean you’re not ignoring me for all eternity?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

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