Chapter Twenty-Five
I look on, numb and hollow, as Estrella’s fingers work nimbly over the hem of my dress. I wonder if she knows I’m under a spell? I wonder if she cares?
With every swipe of her diamond-studded thimble, my gown adjusts tighter at my waist and flows longer at the back. Her feline stole watches me, unflinching.
The fabric of my dress is smooth and pearlescent, with giant white blooms cascading over one shoulder and down my chest like a river of magnolias.
It’s beautiful and it feels light as air on my skin, but I don’t want it. I want to rip it to shreds with my teeth. Wanting it means wanting to be second-in-command to my mother, to be second-in-command at the MA. And although my body has been compelled to want this, my brain and soul are joined by a symphony of muted screams.
Estrella’s eyes flick up to me from the train. I will myself to tell her, open my mouth, but I can’t make a sound. I’m on mute.
Running doesn’t work either. The magic is so strong that after my meeting with my mom I went to bed and fell asleep, unable to answer Luisa’s panicked text messages. I want to be with her, I want to tell her everything, but instead, I made my way to Estrella’s the next morning and got fitted for my Ascension dress. The perfect picture of a dutiful heir.
“What will my mother be wearing?” I ask, tired of chewing the inside of my cheek raw in silence.
The old Witch makes a face. “A white gown, of course. You truly know little of our customs.” She sighs. “That’s why everyone wears our traditional color, purple, but the First and Second wear white. You and your mother are now the light in the darkness. Becoming First and Second is akin to being reborn.”
How do I stop this?
I try to say the words, I even attempt to reach out to the designer, but I’m frozen in place by Solina’s magic.
“What... What else happens? What other components are there?”
“There’s the water cleansing ceremony, my favorite, then there’s a bunch of fancy light magic, but it’s all for show, the most important thing is the equinox full moon. The moonlight itself is key. It must hit both of you, be felt by your magic for the bond to snap into place. That’s why the ceremony takes place on the roof of the MA. Nothing can obscure its light.”
“But don’t full moons last a few nights?”
She titters. “So human of you. Non-Witches think a full moon lasts three days, but in reality the moon is only truly full for a short time. Tonight. That’s when it’s at its most powerful. It’s most fortunate that your mother didn’t have to wait long after Maribel was… found. Because the next equinox won’t be for another six months.”
I bite down on my cheek hard for my next question, tasting the coppery tang of blood on my tongue.
“What could obscure the moon?”
OK. That worked. So, it looks like I can ask basic questions if they don’t pertain to the ceremony itself, just the moon.
Estrella arches a time-plucked brow.
“The weather can obscure moonlight, I guess. An errant cloud. But there will be Elementals on-hand who will create enough wind to ensure a clear sky. Stop worrying,” she snaps, refocusing on my hem.
Unless I can master the clouds, I have no way of stopping this. If I were able to communicate to Rafi, maybe he could keep all the other Elementals from shifting the clouds. But what if there aren’t any fucking clouds? I’m screwed.
Rafi can’t create the weather, he can only make it rain on a two-meter patch, for fuck’s sake! Something shifts in my brain as a memory of Rafi in a tux sweeps into my mind, followed by his words.
My Elemental abilities are a joke compared to theirs. They can bring about entire weather shifts and cause giant storms, that’s how powerful they are.
Estrella snaps me from my train of thought.
“We’re all done.” She groans as she straightens up and admires her work. Her face, tanned and lined as old tree bark, cracks into a smile. “I must say, these petals are very fine indeed. I’ve not made a dress like this before.”
I stroke the flowers adorning my chest. They are the shape of upturned umbrellas, opening and closing at my touch.
“What are they?”
“Moonflowers,” Estrella says. “They will sparkle when the moonlight hits them.”
My brain is still moving at a furious pace, following my earlier thoughts. Triumphantly, I grab Estrella by her bony shoulders.
“Thank you, Estrella! Thank you!”
Still in my white dress, I race out of the door.
“Get changed. You’ll get it dirty!” she calls out.
I don’t care. I don’t have long until my mother’s magic compels me to get to the HQ for the Ascension. Rafi may not be able to control the weather, but there is someone who can.
The Fae guards let me into the prince’s yacht without question — though they throw a dubious look at my runaway bride attire. They lead me downstairs to a pair of double doors, which a female guard opens silently.
I’m in the Winter Prince’s bedroom.
What the fuck? Why wasn’t I led to the reception room like last time?
His bed is made of crushed blue velvet, the color of icy skies, with white silk sheets — which are currently wrapped haphazardly around three humans who appear to be peacefully asleep.
The prince sits up on his elbows, the sheets barely covering his Faehood. The rest of him is sculpted like his body is made of cool alabaster, with fair hair mussed up, soft tendrils falling into his eyes.
He studies me with curiosity as I avert my eyes and steady my breath.
“I need to speak to you, immediately.”
I’ve run across half of Barcelona in a gown, and it’s taken its toll. My chest is damp and my cheeks sting with the heat. Thankfully the prince’s room is so
