With nimble fingers, he untied them from the mannequin base and draped them piece by piece over his shoulder.
Turning to her, he swept a critical gaze over her. “Strip,” he commanded.
Diana balked. She wasn’t exactly prudish, but she didn’t make a habit out of stripping in front of men she didn’t know. Not even men who were more spirit or fae.
His eyebrows raised. “Do you require assistance?”
She swallowed and shook her head. Obviously if she didn’t get on the ball and do it, he was of the mind to do it for her. Which would be worse: undressing under her own power or being stripped by the silvanus looming in front of her?
A loud sigh filled the room as he looked up at the ceiling. “I forgot. Human modesty,” he grunted. “I will keep my gaze on the ceiling until you finish.”
Letting out a relieved breath, Diana hastily stripped off her gear and clothing. She hadn’t even seen him pick up the soft leather pants and woven green tunic until he offered them to her. The pants were a little large on her frame, obviously designed for a male or a larger species on whom they would have been skintight. That said, it still managed to be snug at her hips. Diana folded up the ends and stuffed them into her boots.
The tunic, however, was surprisingly comfortable and flattering as it draped elegantly to her mid-thigh, but it did little to hide the fact that she lacked a bra. Diana tried not to think of the way her boobs jiggled and her nipples pebbled under the soft fabric.
Her last good bra bit the dust a few weeks ago, and she had not yet been able to find a suitable replacement in her size. Who knew that one of the more trying difficulties she would experience in a post-apocalyptic world was trying to find underwear that fit? Her big breasts made it even harder, and the pickings were even starting to get slim on panties.
“Okay, I am decent,” she mumbled.
“Are you now?” he purred. There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he lowered his head and his eyes immediately fell upon her.
He didn’t wait for a response. With a satisfied noise in the back of his throat, his eyes took her in. With a snap of his wrist, he opened and immediately wrapped a wide belt around her waist and the upper part of her hips. She really had no idea what the official names for every piece of armor were. Her time with the SCA had been some time ago and, even then, being able to identify armor by the correct names had never had been a priority since she hadn’t bothered with most of it, but she did her best to be aware of everything he was strapping onto her so that she would be able to correctly put it back without assistance.
She recognized the leather vest that he laced around her chest, which was followed by a skirt-type piece that protected her thighs, and greaves fastened around her calves. Bracers protected her forearms, and another set that covered most of her upper arms followed them. They were heavy, studded with metal spikes in some places, such as on her upper arms. The larger pieces that protected her shoulders possessed some exceptional metalwork, but she found with a few stretches that she still possessed her full range of movement.
“Better,” he said softly before continuing to a large locked case at the back of the armory.
The case was set aside from the rest of the armory, as if whatever it held had a distinguished and special place within the palace. The lucomo approached it, staring at it silently, then pressed his hand against an ornate disc at the front that appeared to serve as an occult lock. There was a flare of light before the mechanism that locked the case tumbled to the floor.
Diana’s eyes widened as they fell upon the luminous silver armor that lay in numerous pieces inside. The breastplate and shoulder guard braces were enormous, made for a male of his build. In some ways, the pieces appeared nearly identical to her own. There was even some sort of silvery head piece, resembling a helmet, that appeared to be designed to hook around his antlers. He stroked the breastplate thoughtfully, and Diana wondered what brought the morose look to his face.
Chapter 10
Silvas could feel the eyes of the female, Diana, upon him. Even lost in