Heidi planted a hand on her hip. “You’re like a child.”
I raised a brow. “You do makeup for a lot of children?”
She rolled her eyes and went back to dabbing at my eyelids with a brush.
This was after spending nearly the entire day getting ready. Heidi had dragged me to the bathhouse down the street and we’d showered, soaked, and scrubbed my skin until it was bright red but clean. We’d even (finally) washed my hair.
I couldn’t remember how many weeks it’d been since the last time, but even with a strong detangling potion, my eyes had watered the whole time Heidi combed it out for me. We’d followed that with a nail trim and, at Heidi’s insistence, a full body wax. Thank the sea goddess for the numbing draught they gave out at the bathhouse.
It’d been a long time, years, since I’d been able to afford such treatments and I was loath to spend what few gold coins I had on something so frivolous, but my friend had insisted it’d be worth it.
“Nights like these only come around a few times in your life.” She’d laced her hands together and beamed at me and, like a dummy, I’d begrudgingly handed over a bag of money for some women to rip my body hair out by force.
All of that had been followed by a good hour of having my hair curled, then tugged and pinned into place. If it took this much work just to make me look presentable, I wanted to suggest scrapping the whole thing. I could stay home and eat mochi on the couch in my pajamas.
I sighed wistfully, and the butterflies in my stomach went into cramping convulsions. I pressed a hand to my middle. All the fuss over me just heightened my already intense misgivings about going to the policeman’s ball with Peter.
I shifted where I perched on the edge of the bed and tugged at my bodice. “I’m practically spilling out of this thing.” The black taffeta swished under me.
Heidi kept dabbing at my left eyelid. “You look beautiful.”
She’d even gone to the trouble of asking around to all her cousins until she found one who’d let us borrow a dress that fit. Fit might be a bit of a stretch—literally. Heidi and Will had cast multiple expansion spells on it, getting the fabric to ease as much as possible.
I grimaced. “It’s—oof—so tight.” Every time I inhaled, my chest rose nearly to my chin since my ribs had nowhere to go.
Will, who sat on the floor with his back to the wall, facing me, snorted. “I realize it’s a tad more constrictive than sweatpants, Jolene, but hopefully you can put on a brave face for a few hours.” He rolled his brown eyes, and I shot him a flat look.
He gave me a saucy one back, then pointed a long finger. “Her mascara’s smudged a little on this side.”
“Oh!” Heidi darted forward and pointed her wand at my right eye. The tip began to glow, and I closed my eyes against the bright light.
“You have to keep them open—just for a second.”
I huffed and peeled my watering eyes open. The light flashed and then Heidi stepped back and stood beside Will. “Better?”
My enormous shifter friend draped his long arms over his bent knees and nodded. “You’ve done the best you can with what you have to work with.”
I glared at him.
“Stop!” Heidi waved her hands at me. “Keep your eyes open till it dries.”
I bounced my leg furiously, irritated and full of pent-up energy. I longed to move, to— My stomach sank as I realized what I really wanted to do. I wanted to shift into owl form and fly around the island in the cool night air. I wanted to get out of this tight-bodiced dress and feel the freedom of having wings again.
I gulped. Well, thanks to the curse that’d been leveled on me by my former jealous colleague, that wasn’t gonna happen. I’d lost my magical powers and my ability to shift in one fell swoop. At least I’d been given the new ability to speak with animals—all of them. Woop dee do for me.
Heidi laced her fingers together under her chin and bounced on her heels. She wore bellybutton-high bike shorts and a loose crop top, and while she totally rocked the look, I couldn’t help but think she was about to start leading me and Will in an aerobics class. Especially with all that pep.
“You look perfect.” She pouted. “Oh, Jolene… Peter’s gonna literally die.”
I flashed my eyes at her. “I hope not.”
She giggled and then grew serious. “The mask!” She snapped her fingers. “Where’d I leave it?” She looked around the pile of makeup cases, curlers, and bobby pins strewn about the carpet of my bedroom floor. “Maybe in the front room…”
Still muttering to herself, she headed through the door into my kitchen and front room where I conducted all of my fake pet psychic business.
I dug my fingers into the full skirt of the black gown, tensed, then spun suddenly to face Will.
His already huge eyes widened.
“I can’t believe I agreed to this.” I grimaced and held my elbows wide like chicken wings, then fanned my clammy underarms.
Will sniffed and looked me up and down. “Me neither, you freak.”
IF LOOKS COULD KILL
I moaned. “Why? Why did I agree to go to the policeman’s ball? First of all, I’m a shifter.”
Will held up a long finger. “And a fraud, sister.”
I nodded my agreement. “And a fraud. And…” My stomach turned. “And Will… they’re going to be there. I can feel it.”
He frowned down at my skirt. “Un-claw your hands, you’re wrinkling it.”
I looked down and realized I’d been balling the skirt up in my tight fists. I spread my trembling fingers wide and took heaving breaths, my chest rising and falling. I wanted to rip this dress off.
“My former
