I did, even as a single child. It solidified my previous assumptions. “I will watch out for her,” I said.
“Thank you, I’ll see what I can do for you, too.”
“Don’t pay me to be her friend.”
“I see why she likes you.” he laughed. “How about you don’t regard it as payment but as a token of appreciation?”
The carriage came to a halt and when he opened the door, Claire was already running towards me, covered in a robe. Her hair was wrapped around curlers.
As soon as I stepped onto the ground, she dragged me to her room.
“Let’s get dressed. Let’s go, go, go!” She jumped all over the place.
Her bedroom was messier than usual, I noticed her trouble picking an outfit. One dress laid on the couch.
“This one’s for me. For you, I have various options, but… .” She brushed her chin with her fingers. “We need to make a statement.” She hovered some of them over my body. “Let’s try the one with the cutout, that will make your legs stand out.”
Claire’s good eye chose nothing but black dresses, often with lace. I tried it on and she fixed the waist with a broad leather belt.
“You’re hot,” she said, “you can have whoever you want tonight.” She proceeded to the mirrored table where she painted her lids with shimmering red colour.
I watched her, learning every move.
“Warpaint,” she said.
“You mean makeup?”
“What’s the difference?”
While she painted my face, I told her that Kress apologised, which she was pleased to hear. I refrained from talking about the conversation in the carriage. She seemed excited, and I avoided provoking a meltdown.
When she removed the curlers, her locks bounced in all directions. Perhaps she wanted to impress someone, and I concluded it to be Kress or Bryon, unaware of any background deals. As far as I knew, she was close to both. I bit my lip, thinking about it.
“You’re smudging the lipstick,” she scolded me and applied it again. “They’re small, your lips I mean, but real pouchy.”
A maid hurried into the room and bowed down multiple times. “Lady Di Centi, The Waves of Romance-,” she ventilated, but Claire interrupted her.
“Loyra, don’t you see what’s happening? Get Tonio to handle it.”
“Lord Di Centi is currently unavailable, the band seems to be in a bad mood.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “They’re not in a bad mood,” she scoffed while slipping into her shoes, “they’re heartbroken. That’s what makes them great performers for love songs.”
She rushed to her bed and took a huge shot from one of her bottles of spirits. Before she ran down the stairs, she handed over the bottle and commanded me to pick shoes for myself.
I should’ve thought about it earlier, when I heard her mention their name for the first time, I didn’t know any dances for slow music and shook at the thought of embarrassing myself. My outfit was revealing enough, all it needed was one small step in the wrong direction and I would tumble, exposing the rest of me.
The cheering of our schoolmates reached the room. I had no other option than bracing myself for whatever might happen and took a large gulp from her bottle upon leaving.
The Wintergarden was stuffed with different dishes, fruits, and drinks. Over a dozen servants stood beside them like warriors, some of them with tablets, waiting for a command. They bowed down to every guest, even though they hurried right past them into the garden where wildflowers bloomed between bushes.
Further away, a stage had been prepared and in front of it, a dancefloor. I recognised a drum set and two stringed instruments with long necks.
The musicians approached their instruments and when they sampled the sound, I realised the music would be the opposite of slow.
Tonio climbed the stage and everyone else got quiet. When he raised his glass, they repeated after him and so did I.
“If you remember tonight, it’s not my fault.”
We took our first sip, and he jumped down to Claire, freeing the stage for the band.
The frontman stepped forward. He was glowing with charisma, his smooth movement enchanted me. “We are The Waves of Romance!” He exclaimed and winked at Claire, to which she cheered and blew kisses at him. His voice spiked up the hair on my body. He was a Siren, too. It was undeniable.
The drums set early dancers in motion while I gained courage with every sip.
Claire carried four tiny glasses through the crowd and gave two of them to me when she found me at the door of the Wintergarden. “Here,” she said, “you need them more than me.”
After dumping the spirit down my throat, she raised her hand, and a waiter brought new shots.
Around us, they conjured light orbs, some flowing above our heads and others rotating on poles.
The sun drowned in the horizon and the alcohol showed its potency by heating my skin and freeing me of moral inhibitions.
11. Secret
While Claire tried to teach me Northern flirt tactics, Tonio, Kress, and Bryon joined us and started a light conversation. I stood silent and hesitated to use any of her tips. Their vibrant appearances made me shy. The way they talked, laughed, moved their limbs was elegant, unlike mine, and I started mimicking them to blend in.
“Girls, you look breathtaking,” Tonio said to which the boys toasted.
Afraid of blabbing out anything, I shifted the attention away from me by complimenting Claire’s sense of fashion.
“I should introduce you properly,” he continued and put his hand on my shoulder, “Kress Colvin, heir to Colvin’s shipyard and future Count of Roness, Bryon Amari, heir to Amari forge and saddlery.”
I saw through his manoeuvre. He introduced me to the inner circle, his family beyond bloodline, without making it obvious to Claire.
I bowed to them.
“Verra Volkov, Gerogy Volkov’s granddaughter,” he
