Unfortunately, her bottom was bare, except for a lace flower on her right cheek. But there were two seemingly strategically placed openings in the center of the lace swirls that covered her breasts.
Through these, Elli’s nipples could be clearly seen, pressing against the see-through fabric which held the lace together. They were like two pink dots in the middle of a pair of blooming flowers—or so the seamstress had declared. She had been delighted with the fit of the dress, which had only needed minor hemming to be wearable. But Elli couldn’t help trying to shift the lace this way and that to cover her tender points.
The problem was, the dress wouldn’t stay shifted. The minute she moved, it fell back into place and revealed her nipples again, pressed against the see-through, stretchy fabric.
“I told you—you look beautiful, little priestess,” Roke rumbled, giving her a frown.
“I look obscene,” Elli muttered. “That seamstress had better be right! If I’m the only female dressed like this—”
“You aren’t—look.” Roke gestured and she saw a Tenebrian couple coming up to greet them from the opposite end of the hall. It was the Duke and his Lady and she was dressed just like Elli, to Elli’s deep relief.
Although, she thought frowning to herself, the see-through dress with lace patches the Duke’s mate wore didn’t exactly have the same effect as Elli’s own dress. Probably because the Duchess—if that was her title—had such pale, milky skin. Even though her nipples were exposed like Elli’s were, they were a shade of white which nearly blended in with the lace.
“Ah, here you are! Delighted to see you again.” The Duke nodded at Roke and Elli affably enough. He seemed to have gotten over his anger at her for daring to ask for a piece of the Healing Lattice—probably because the Crown Prince hadn’t gotten angry at the request himself.
“Good evening,” Roke greeted the Duke. “Are you on your way to Supper? Is it this way?” He nodded down another long corridor which branched off from the one they were in.
“Yes, the Formal Dining room is this way,” the Duke said.
“Do accompany us.” The Duchess had a soft, dreamy voice which seemed to match her milky complexion, Elli thought. “We would be pleased to have you take the couch beside ours tonight.”
“Thank you.” Roke nodded at them both. “We would be honored to do so.”
“This way, then.” The Duke led them down the side hallway and through a set of double doors, into a lovely room made up like an arboretum.
There were potted plants and ferns everywhere and a bubbling brook took a meandering path through the room, its course cut in the shiny black stone of the floor. The water running through the channel was a milky, pale blue shade almost the same color as Tenebrian skin tones, Elli thought. She wondered if the color had any special significance.
All through the large room, long, soft couches were scattered. They were the kind with just one rolled arm at one end—a chaise lounge, Elli believed it was called.
Apparently Supper was a special event because there weren’t nearly enough of the low couches to accommodate the entire Court. She only counted around twenty-five or thirty scattered around the large room.
Most of the lounges were made of dark brown leather but in the very center of the room, on a raised dais, was a gaudy golden one. Instead of buttons between its cushions, it had diamonds and other precious stones studding its golden leather, which glimmered richly in the muted lighting.
“I’m guessing that couch in the center is for the Crown Prince,” Roke remarked, as the Duke and Duchess chose one of the lounges near the front of the room and indicated that he and Elli should take the one directly beside them.
“Oh yes—of course.” The Duke nodded as he sat back against the rolled end of his lounge and his wife settled between his legs. “How else could we Mirror His Majesty if he was not the center of attention?”
“Mirror him?” Elli asked, but before anyone could answer her question, there was a flourish of fanfare and the Crown Prince himself stepped into the room.
At once, every Tenebrian noble in the room rose and bowed low to their monarch. Elli and Roke followed suit, Elli watching from the corner of her eye to see what the Court would do next.
The Crown Prince walked to the raised dais with the golden lounge, but before climbing the steps that led up to