Frostbite (The Dragonian, #3) - Adrienne Woods Page 0,46
mouth.
Sammy and I went closer to see what the masks in Becky’s hand looked like.
“Mom, these are gorgeous. Did you kill a swan for these?”
Lucille laughed. “They are fake feathers Becky. I know a thing or two about making masks.”
She handed Becky the one that went with the green dress she was going to wear. The texture of the mask felt soft, with huge green feathers around the eyes. It was really stunning. It even had a bit of a green shine if the light reflected on it at just the right angle.
The yellow dress had a yellow sequin mask to match and I never knew masks could be so beautiful. There were yellow feathers too, but not as many as the first mask.
Then Becky took out the mask that went with my dress. It was pure white, and Lucille had used a sparkling white fabric to cover it. It really looked like it was made of frost.
“I love it, it’s gorgeous, Lucille.”
Lucille shrugged her shoulders and had a huge smile plastered on her face. “I’m glad you girls love them. I can’t wait to see what you are going to look like tomorrow.”
We put the masks back into their boxes and placed them gently on top of one another.
“So how are things going at school?” She looked straight at me.
“You mean how am I dealing with being a dragon?”
She gave me a soft yet concerned look.
“I’m fine. I got over a lot of things, things I never thought I would and it’s all thanks to …my dragon form.” I wanted to say Cara, but I knew I would get funny stares from Lucille and I really didn’t want her to worry about me any more than she already did. I was fine.
“Then I’m glad.” She smiled. “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you. I was shocked when Becky told me that you turned, and into a Rubicon. I have to admit it’s still a bit confusing on so many levels.” She looked at me and shook her head. “Forgive me, I’m babbling way too much again.”
“Not at all,” I said just as I put the coffee mug to my lips.
We enjoyed the afternoon with Lucille, she even got pizzas brought up to the room and we ate until it was time to go.
“So, we’ll see you tomorrow at two?” Becky said as she hugged her mom.
“I’ll be there five minutes before two.” Lucille wrinkled her nose at her daughter.
“Thanks for the pizza,” Sammy gave her a hug after Becky.
“You are welcome.”
I was last. “Thanks for the beautiful masks. They are really something.”
“I’m glad you love them. I can’t wait to see you girls tomorrow in all your glory.”
“Okay,” Becky broke our hug. “It’s time to go. I don’t want to be late or make Master Longwei mad and decide to ban us from the ball.”
“Drama Queen,” her mother mumbled.
“Love you,” Becky yelled as we ran down the corridor to the elevator.
“Love you back.”
The tram ride back to the Academy went fast but only because we couldn’t stop babbling about how beautiful the masks were. We tried them on in our room and I had to say, they were all uniquely stunning. I really couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.
I struggled to fall asleep that night and when I did, I dreamt about the twenty cannon shots and the crazy, wailing, clucking sound of baby Elementals. I woke up in a cold sweat as the pain of Cara stirring inside of me felt real. It disappeared the minute I realized I was inside my bed and safe. I glanced over at the other beds and found two heaps covered with blankets, sleeping soundly.
My head hit the pillow hard as I just stared at the top of my posted bed.
When was I going to get rid of all these stupid dreams? I knew my answer was as soon as I spoke to someone about what had happened, but I couldn’t. I didn’t trust anyone, and Blake was already helping me with so much. He also had a lot to deal with himself, and I couldn’t burden him with more Elena crap.
I stayed awake until Becky’s alarm clock went off and I couldn’t wait for the school day to just be over and done with, then it will be the time for the ball.
Classes were boring as everyone around us talked about masks, tiaras and hair appointments in Elm this afternoon. That was why Lucille was coming to help us