Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,55
I’m hiding.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. She started to snip the ends and I felt the weight of my hair fall away with the long pieces she cut.
“I don’t think it’s only that. You know, most cultures – modern and ancient – had warriors. And many times, warriors would paint their faces or braid their hair, or otherwise alter their looks just before battle. This is no different.”
The marks Aries gave me that made me look like a warrior may have been washed away, but in the mirror in my room earlier, I could see that I had changed. My eyes were harder. I was changing inside, and the outside should reflect it. It seemed the change in me evolved as rapidly as the change in the color of my hair. It felt like I was shedding my old skin and reveling in the luxury of new.
I just hoped that when it was time to play the role of warrior, I was ready to take up a sword.
14
Helena added blunt layers to the ends; it was short, but not too short, falling to my chin. I had a soft side bang now, too. She styled my hair with product that made it soft but textured. To be honest, I looked bangin’. In my replica room, in my replica closet, hung my prom gown. Midnight blue, the tag read. It might have been the initial reason I pulled it from the rack, but the moment I tried it on, it fit me perfectly. I have hips that shouldn’t have fit in that size dress, but they did. And I looked good in it.
I remembered Mom’s squeal when I stepped out of the dressing room. “That’s the one!” she cooed. “That’s the dress.” Her eyes lit up like I’d chosen my wedding gown or something and I couldn’t help but smile.
I stepped in and pulled the dress up, zipping it and trying to fasten the clip at the top of the zipper. It still fit like it had been tailored to my body.
With my fierce new hair color, cut to show the column of my neck, and the way my light eyes contrasted with the deep blue dress, I definitely looked different. And according to Aquarius, that was a very good thing.
Don’t be what they expect when you are so much more.
I pursed my lips and looked at the makeup Helena had applied. She took one look at my broken powder and eyeshadow, still damp from their earlier adventure, and winced. She gently handed them back to me and pulled her own out of her bag. She even left a bottle of foundation and a palette of eyeshadow behind, saying she could go find more from an abandoned mall somewhere nearby. Nearby for a Guardian could be halfway across the country or world though, so I supposed it wasn’t an inconvenience.
My lips were stained the color of black cherries and my cheeks wore a shimmery shade of coral, delicately highlighted with gold. Not a heavy shade of gold like Aquarius wore, but more of a fine sheen. My eyes were smoky and my lashes curled to impossible lengths, thickened with black mascara.
Beneath the dress, purple bruises blossomed around my stomach where Pisces grabbed me and dragged me below the water. I pressed my hand to where it was sorest, reminding myself that at least I struggled.
A human might not be able to kill a Zodia, but we could fight back.
I stared at my reflection until Kes knocked at the door. “Come in.”
He stopped just inside the doorway. “Whoa.”
“Whoa, as in, ‘that’s dramatic,’ or whoa, as in, ‘it looks good’?” I asked.
He gave a sappy smile. “It looks great.”
“Thanks for asking Helena to help me. She’s really nice.”
He snorted. “Helena’s not nice. She owed me a favor.”
How did all these people owe Kes favors? He was like a Guardian mob boss or something. “Well, she likes me, so you should’ve kept your favor.”
Kes quirked a brow as if to ask Is that so? I smiled at him as if to say It absolutely is. I was totally likeable, unlike him.
He offered me his arm. Before I clasped it, I took in his tunic, black with matching stitches. Ram’s horns curled from the center of his chest outward. His pants were black. His boots were black. He wore a dangerously curved blade at his hip. Kes looked like a soldier, not a Guardian. In reality, he was both.