Page 84 of Synodic

Giving in, I laid down on the marble pallet, waiting for Pia to begin the stone massage. She lifted my arm and began rubbing the stone back and forth across my skin in an elliptical motion, and I immediately yanked my hand back in pain. It felt like sandpaper!

She and Xala giggled at my response, and I noticed she held a rough-hewn pumice stone in her hand.

Gift? Being rubbed raw by a pumice stone hardly felt like a gift. Now IknewNepta was out to get me.

“It’s good for the skin,” Pia explained.

“By removing it?”

She chuckled again. “Yes, it will renew your skin, leaving it smooth and beautiful. Try to relax. This is a room of well-being.”

Not wanting to insult her or her culture, I nodded for her to continue.

I winced the entire time as Pia removed the top layer of my skin from toe to chest. But she was right. I had never felt softer.

Then she rubbed the lactic acid and knots from my body in a heavenly deep tissue massage. Blocked energy flowed through me, reviving my limbs and sore body. Next, both women bathed my body and washed my hair with fragrant berry- and almond-scented lathers.

This was all quite over the top and had me worrying they were gussying me up for some intense Alcreon Light ceremony. I really hoped that wasn’t the case.

Finally cleaned to their specifications, they wrapped me in a linen robe and sat me at the wooden vanity.

Together they tamed my hair into smooth curls that fell long down my back, loosely twisting and braiding small sections away from my face. Xala added a bit of charcoal to my eyes, further winging out the ends and darkening my lashes. She also placed a dab of rose paste on my cheeks and lips, bringing out the pink undertones of my pale skin.

Pia carried out a billowing garment slung across her arms.

“Okay, what’s going on? Do either of you know what’s happening tonight?” I asked, hoping one of them would fill me in because this was getting weird.

“It’s a most marvelous event that hasn’t happened in many years. It was thought to have disappeared forever,” Xala said solemnly before excitement crept back into her voice. “It has been over a thousand moons since it was last seen. Some say it is you who brings its return.”

So that explained everyone’s enthusiasm. A rare event was to take place tonight. And because of me?

I doubted it, but the more questions I asked, the more the two women refused to tell me, all the while assuring me I would absolutely love it.

“But what about the—”

Before I could get the question out, a garment engulfed my head and muffled the rest of my thought. The lightweight dress tumbled down my body in a thin layer of sheer white fabric. The material was just translucent enough that it highlighted the silhouette of my bare legs beneath, and the cinched bodice gave my runner’s body a pleasing curve. The neckline ran low across my chest, lifting and accentuating the hollow cleavage between my breasts. Long, see-through sleeves draped off my shoulders and fastened delicately at my wrists with crystal-tipped ties. Tan strappy sandals were slipped over my feet and laced up my ankles like pointe shoes.

“One more finishing touch,” Xala said with a pleased grin as she placed a shimmering head chain upon my hair. Pieced into three sections, one strand of the headpiece lined directly down my middle part, while the other two bowed lightly around the crown of my head. A hanging tear-dropped moon crystal rested at the center of my brow, bringing out the mirrored silver of my eyes.

I had never looked more beautiful, yet something was missing. Even though I hadn’t owned it for very long, my thigh ached for the weight of the crystal blade Rowen had given me.

Seeming to have read my mind, Pia turned, and in her arms she held my elegant yet deadly weapon. “Looking for this?”

I smiled broadly as I took it from her delicate hands.

Both ladies helped me lift my dress around my hips as I fastened and secured the blade in its accompanying thigh sheath.

Perfectly in place, I nodded, and they let the dress tumble down to my feet in billowing blooms of fabric, completely concealing the weapon. It would be difficult to get to in a pinch, but at least I could feel its reassuring presence resting against my skin.

Now I felt complete.

I thanked Pia and Xala over and over, especially when I found out they were the ones who had been laying clothes and food out for me all this time.

Feeling closer to them after everything we just went through, bath and all, I threw my arms around them in a hug of immense gratitude.

“Go to the shore,” Xala instructed. “The village awaits you.”

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