“Try what on? It’s barely a dress.”
“Trust me.”
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to pay for this.”
She pushed me into the change room.
We’d only come in here to show the Evil Three. It was unfortunate then that I fell in love with the dress before the magic even happened. The bodice had a plunging V neckline that stayed in place no matter how far I bent over to test it. The straps were the thinnest pieces of string, but they managed to hold everything in place. It was perfectly fitted and fell just below the flats of my feet. With heels on, it would be perfect. The material was softer than a cloud, and if I wanted to, I could do a workout in it without tearing anything. The best part was that it was delicate but it hid everything all at the same.
“Time to come out,” Celine called.
I pushed open the door and walked out into the soft lighting. Everyone turned to look at me. That was when I felt the sweep of magic cascading over me. Sophie inhaled sharply as a thread of shimmering gold appeared over each of my shoulders. They burst forth like seedlings. The thread knitted through the bodice and down over the swaying skirt in a pattern of beautiful golden vines that tapered off close to the hem.
Celine looked on with interest. “Interesting,” she said. “Gold rather than blue or green.”
“It’s incredible,” I breathed. I felt like I was wearing a cloud.
I could only stand there trying to take it all in. She clapped her hands and moved on. “Now,” she said, turning to Sophie. Her face turned dour. “I don’t even want to repeat what Maximus said to me about your dress. These shifters don’t seem to understand that other species aren’t as comfortable as they are in their skin.”
My apathetic state was shattered by the mortified look on Sophie’s face. Diana and I were still giggling when Sophie came out of the change room in a silken gown that looked like pink champagne brought to life. The material hugged her and gave off a feeling of sensuousness without actually revealing anything.
Harlow wolf-whistled as a blush crept over Sophie’s cheeks. We tried to hand over the sum of our money. Celine waved it away. Sophie took it more gracefully than I did. Though that seemed to be the case with everything.
“I need to make some slight adjustments to your dress,” Celine said to me. “Stand here, please.” She pointed to a spinning dais beside the register.
“Go and sightsee,” I told the girls. “I’ll catch up to you.”
When we were alone, Celine crouched down. I thought she was hemming the dress. I stood there staring out the window. Occasionally I’d brush my palm over the skirt, and no joke, I felt the golden vines move beneath my fingers. I was so enamoured by the magic that I hadn’t taken note of what she was actually doing. When my attention snapped back to her, I realised she was measuring my torso and not anything to do with the dress at all. Worse, she was humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like the wedding march.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you doing?”
“Oh nothing in particular.” She winked at me. “But it doesn’t hurt to get a jump on things. In case I’m lucky enough to get the job.”
Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “I need to leave now.”
Why did she think that was funny? I was practically hyperventilating by the time I left Madam Familiar. The girls were nowhere to be seen. I pivoted and entered the amulet store. At this time of day, the store was teeming with patrons. Every single one of them stopped what they were going to stare at me.
One of the shopgirls stepped up to me straight away. “Hi,” she said. “What can I do for you?” I wasn’t imaging the way she was actually body-blocking me from stepping farther inside.
“Ahh...I need a shield amulet.”
She frowned. “You need an amulet to stop a supernatural from affecting human technology?”
“Yes.” Why was she quoting the definition of a shield amulet to me? Wasn’t this about when she should be trying to take my money?
“May I ask what it’s for?”
“No, you may not.”
She scratched at her head. “Hmm.”
It wasn’t that difficult a question.
“Lex?” I head Astrid say. “Something wrong?”
She came up beside me. The shopgirl brightened. “Oh, right. A shield amulet. Coming right up.”
“That was weird, right?” I asked Astrid when we left the store with my amulet. The girls were waiting outside.
“Weird in general, yes,” she said. “Weird for your situation, no.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
There was a moment of silence. “You spoke Angelical without dying.”
That was all she needed to say. Suddenly it hit me that Jacqueline had said half the supernatural community wanted me out. It stood to reason that they were now watching everything I did. My mood deflated quickly after that.
I was relieved when we finally arrived back at the Academy. “Are you okay?” Sophie asked me.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
The dress box crumpled under my grip. Sophie took it away. Something dawned on me. I put a mirror call through to Basil.
“Lex,” he said when he answered. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I speak to Nanna?”
He got her on the line. She was holding Yolanda and Durin’s new cub in her arms. I felt a weight lifting off my chest. At least the shifters weren’t shunning us. “Hello, love,” Nanna said. “Are you alright?”
“The question is, are you?” I asked her. “I just had a weird interaction with the mages at Rivia. When was the last time you went to Morgana?”
She did that thing where she pretended to be busy with her hands so she could avoid speaking to me. “Nanna?”
When she finally made eye contact, her expression was grim. “I didn’t want to say anything in case it upset you, love. But I’m not allowed
