A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,94
questioning why I have to go.
They ignore me, each having a duty to complete. One clears my dinner, and the other has clothing in her hand that she lays out carefully on the bed.
One of the servants points at the bathroom. “Bathe. Get dressed. Your master will be here to get you within the hour.”
“Master?” I practically screech, but the servants back out of the room and shut the door behind them without any emotion on their faces.
I’m tempted to leave. To go after them and demand they tell me where Carrick is, as well as make them understand he is most definitely not my master. But then I reconsider, knowing I’ll be met with hostility and possibly danger outside of these walls, despite the queen saying I was safe. As Carrick said, trust no fae.
At first, I pout and immediately decide to ignore the order to get ready for the party. I want no part of it. I don’t want to be glared at or threatened. I don’t want to watch Deandra dry hump Carrick on the dance floor. And I don’t want to spend time flirting with Pyke, which had seemed like a good idea earlier.
I’m tired, and I want to get this trip over with.
In the end, however, I know that Carrick won’t let me out of this duty and will expect me at his side. As such, I trudge off to the bathroom and take a hot bath, using the hair and skincare products I had found.
I don’t luxuriate long given my hour deadline, so after the bath, I wrap myself in the robe and stare at myself in the mirror. I contemplate the fact I don’t have any makeup to make myself at least look one-tenth as glamourous as the female fae are sure to be tonight. I’ve only got a pile of unruly hair and pretty eyes.
Oh, well. I’m not here to impress anyone.
At least that’s my philosophy as I walk back into the bedroom to check out the clothing that was left behind.
Three dresses, all different just on fabric alone.
One is a heavy satin with lavender and pink flowers, and I immediately discount it as it will clash with my hair.
One is black, and I don’t spare it much of a glance because I always wear black. It’s what goes best with my bright hair, with the exception of that beautiful champagne dress Carrick had bought me for the auction.
The third dress is a possibility, a shimmery bronze material that on its own could be considered dull being that bronze is essentially brown, but, with my hair, I could look like an autumn enchantress.
Snickering to myself, I decide to look at the styles before I make my final choice.
The bronze dress is Grecian styled with the fabric draping over one shoulder, fitted through the bodice, and flowing down to the ground. It has a belt made of large gold linked ovals, and there are slits up both sides that will bare my legs when I walk. It’s incredibly beautiful and something I would wear to an event in the Earth realm. I think it was possibly chosen for that very reason, so I would look like where I came from.
The black dress… well, I can’t quite figure it out. It doesn’t seem like a dress at all when I lift it but more like a bunch of stretchy velvet straps, some maybe three inches wide, some a bit wider, and one piece that’s about twelve inches wide. There’s also a long piece of black satin that has snaps on it, and I set that aside wondering if it’s a cape. I’m finally able to untangle the puzzle of velvety straps and smooth it out over the bed. I step back to study it.
“Oh, wow,” I murmur as I realize what I’m looking at.
It’s not a gown at all, but would essentially be a skintight black velvet dress with strips of material cut out of it, which would bare my skin. I can tell the strips would strategically cover my breasts, but not much, and the widest swatch of material is to cover my crotch and butt. It had full-length sleeves but there was more material missing than not, and I had this image that if I put it on, I’d look like I’d tangled with a gryffin, and my outfit got all sliced up.
The outfit is far too short, and I almost discount it, but then I glance at the black satin I’d