Page 48 of Rook of Ruin
“I think you do more than that.” His eyes flash, and a feral grin gives way. I squeeze my thighs together, gripping the chair. He chuckles. Heknowshow much I want him. Stupid Spider.
Two men fly into my bedroom without a knock or a greeting. They look at their friend in relief.
“About damn time!” Nolan bellows. “Scared us bloody enough.” Nolan looks between us, realizing something was happening—or was about to—when they busted in. “I’m so sorry.Apologies. We weren’t thinking. Truly sorry, my lady. I should have—I mean, we should have never busted in like that. You have been so gracious. I appreciate you allowing us to come visit, and again, my lady, apologies. Please forgive us.”
Alec glowers at them and then looks at me with an eyebrow raised as if to say,Well, what are you going to do now?
“Next time, knock. Nora should be bringing up lunch. You’ll be staying.” A statement, not a question.
The room becomes insufferable with the two guards falling over themselves to help Alec. Left to my own devices, I glance at the white roses from Simon. They are looking rough today, wilting a little. Curiosity rears her head, and I decide to read his letter.
Oh fuck off, Simon.
Crumpling the paper and throwing it inside my desk, I begin to pace. Simon knows he should have told me, but he didn’t. Anger rises inside me. Severe anger. I try to distract my mind, but my brace gives off a soft glow and the feeling of anger overcomes my ability to think. I want to hurt someone, anyone. Tears prickle at the edges of my eyes, and a strangled gasp breaks out of my mouth. I can’t control it. I’m forced onto my knees, and my jaw fuses shut. My lungs only allow in tiny breaths, and I collapse on the floor in a ball. My body is on fire from the lack of air, overwhelming all my senses.
This is hurting me.My words run through my mind.
The heady feeling of anger dissipates, and I lie on the floor, gulping down air.What was that?My brace is still softly glowing like I was just using it for healing. I roll over onto my back for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. The men in the bedroom are speaking loudly—they have no idea what just happened.
Eventually, the door to my chamber opens and closes.
“My lady, are you alright?” Worry is etched on Nora’s face.
“I’m fine, Nora. Just relaxing.”Truth. I’m physically fine, I am just relaxing, but I’m scared that something is incredibly wrong with my brace.
“The queen’s stylists are right outside.” Nora’s reminder that I have to pretend to care about the drama of court makes me groan. I would rather be curled up in bed with Alec.
The thought of him still naked in my bed has my heart leaping in my chest. Nora opens my chamber door as I scramble to a stand.
Two voluptuous women showing a large amount of cleavage assess me with intent. They see my low-cut dress and smile. “Let’s get started.”
Nolan and Christoph pull in the full-length mirror from my bedroom while I quickly relieve myself, brush my teeth, and exchange a wanton look with Alec as I pass back into my sitting room. The amount of boxes and fresh flowers that greet my eyes is astonishing.
“What’s all this?” I wave my hands around.
“Gifts and flowers from gentlemen showing their intent to seek you out at the ball, to become your suitor and maybe more,” the taller stylist purrs as she closely watches Nolan lift a rather heavy box. She bends down gracefully so her chest is practically falling out in front of his face and her backside seems wider. Nolan stares, mouth twisting as if thinking what he would like to do with that backside. Christoph smirks, and Nolan mutters something under his breath but gives the stylist a knowingwink. She giggles. The art of seduction indeed. I stifle a laugh, picturing Alec performing such an act for me.
“Would you care to open any before we begin?” The shorter stylist smiles as she hands me a green silk box. Inside is a thin necklace in the shape of a serpent with shimmering black diamonds. It looks lethal and gorgeous. She hands me a smaller black silk box, which contains a golden comb with small glass white roses. These two gifts alone would be enough to feed Tess’s family for a few years.
“It’s too much. All of this is too much.”
They nod in understanding. Flowers, many of them white roses, are lined up along the wall, and bouquets of tall exotic flowers are placed in various corners out of the way.
“Nora, could you please write down who sent me what kind of flowers and then remove them? Send them to a healer’s ward, someplace where others can enjoy them.” Nora bobs her head and gets to work. Christoph and Nolan return to Alec, locking the door behind themselves, giving us privacy as the two stylists begin to transform me into something regal.
After several hours of combing, curling, pinning, twisting, tweezing, poofing, patting, squeezing, and smoothing, the two women put layers of rouge on my mouth and thick gobs of black tar over my gold-dusted and kohl-lined eyes. One more dusting of a gold and pink mixture on my cheekbones, and the stylists nod in satisfaction. I gaze at myself in the full-length mirror. I look fuckingamazing, and I’m only in a gold-and-lace strapless corset—which pushes my breasts into lovely mounds—and matching underwear. My hair is pulled up into a mixture of curls and braids, small gold flecks showing throughout my golden brown hair, giving me an ethereal look.
They carefully take out a bloodred gown from a box, and I step into it. The red gown pools at my feet, and the light, silky fabric makes a swish when I turn. Ralin’s taste in gowns is spectacular—this one in particular hugs every single curve and goes into a very low V, showing off my cleavage. The two small straps holding it up sit at the very edges of my shoulders, suggesting a breeze might push them off, revealing all. A sheer red capedrapes down my back with gold embellishments at the bottom. I look regal.
The shorter stylist has a large velvet case, and she pulls out a gold coronet. The gold mimics flames with rubies on the tips. She adjusts it on my head, and it is lighter than I thought it would be. She hooks gold flame and ruby earrings onto my ears, and two gold-heeled shoes are placed on my feet, allowing the red gown to sit right at the edges of my toes, enough so I can walk without tripping.
“Stunning.” The taller stylist smiles.
“Thank you so much. Ifeelstunning.” I keep glancing at myself in the mirror to make sure it’s actually me.
Nora is grinning as she knocks on the door to my bedroom. It unlocks, and I slowly walk in. Alec’s face says it all, and I blush. Christoph whistles, and Nolan nods in approval. I give them a wide grin and wink at the man in my bed.
Gliding out of my chambers, Nora accompanies me as I float through the hall, down two sets of stairs, and into a giant foyer. My mind drifts to Patsy—she should be here, she would have loved it. “Nora, how is Patsy? I haven’t heard anything from her.”
