Page 186 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
Leesa had traced my lips perfectly with a red pigment that wouldn’t smear, according to her.
I looked…beautiful.
Beautiful and happy.
My spirit was so at odds with the strange atmosphere in the house, though.
Goose raced between my bedroom and downstairs, coming back with so many accessories and jewels, I didn’t know where he’d found the space to store them.
Adara stood in the corner, shrouded in a cloud of misery, dressed in her usual mercenary leathers, her knives glinting more menacingly.
I expected Goose to be fidgety and Adara to be morose.
But Leesa surprised me.
She had a slight frown on her face and kept biting her lower lip. Her bubbly energy was dampened. Not as much as last night, but…
“Are you alright?” I asked.
She stopped twirling a curl around her fingers and looked at me in the mirror. A small smile graced her lips. “You know how I’m sure you’ll be a good ruler?”
I shook my head slightly, careful not to jostle too much and ruin her hard work.
“You’re getting married today and from the way you’re vibrating, I’m guessing you’re nervous. You’ve just escaped death,” Leesa said in that ancient way of hers that didn’t fit heryouthful face. It was like an old soul had entered a doll at one point and brought it to life. “And yet you’re concerned whetherIam alright.”
“Yes?” I said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Leesa, Goose, Adara…they didn’t know it, but they’d helped bring me out of my shell. Out of the cage of my upbringing. They’d trained me. Fed me. Defended me.
They were as close to friends as I’d ever had.
“It’s a rare thing, that’s all,” Leesa said, going back to frowning at my hair.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Leesa’s hands stilled. In the corner, Adara finally looked our way, her head moving slowly toward us. Waiting.
Leesa looked long and hard at my reflection. There was a storm raging behind her beautiful eyes. She opened and closed her mouth, hesitating in every movement.
Finally, she shook her head, as if severing whatever grim thought had taken over her.
“Your dress is just a different shade than what I thought it would be,” she said. “And a different shape. Bigger.”
That was an understatement. My wedding dress had been crafted from endless layers of golden fabric, sewn so closely together, I didn’t know when one ended and the others began. It was a cloud of gold, trimmed with embroidery so fine, even my mountain eyes recognized its value. Little red and blue jewels twisted between the strands, glimmering. Kaya had warned me Blood Brotherhood wedding dresses were a fearsome thing to behold.
From a distance, the trim looked almost purple. The perfect blend of my Protectorate blue and Zandyr’s Blood Brotherhood red.
The fabric was precious, but sturdy. Crisp. It wouldn’t drift in the wind like the Elekan silk from my first dress–it would also be heavier.
“Too long,” Adara finally deigned to say, the first words she’d spoken today. Whatever had rattled Zandyr lay heavy on her, too, it seemed. “You can’t run in it.”
“Do you really think we’ll be attacked?” I asked.
“No,” she said after a long pause. “But it’s always good to be prepared.”
“You think the advisors will try anything?” After all, the carriage still stood in front of my fence, empty as on the day Goose had brought it. The advisors had either heard Zandyr had found me in the depths of Malhaven or they’d figured out my ruse.
“They would be stupid to, especially now.” Adara gave me a long, steady look. “Remember what today is about. A Clan wedding that will make you queen once Eldryan and Zavoya give up the throne. It is part of Clan life. And Clan life is vicious.”
