Central

  Caleb adjusted his tie so it was straight. “Huh. That helps. Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Gabriel said. “I’ve been to a couple of proms in my day. You pick up a few things.” He looked up and down the hallway and confirmed they were still alone. Then he said, “I’m going to have a word with Uriel and Ini-herit regarding the arrangements for this evening, figure out what path we’re going to take, that kind of thing. You may find some curious drifters coming up this way. It’s inevitable that our location will be found out before the dinner with all of this traffic. Just send anyone who stops on their way. I’ll be back to escort Amber.”

  Then he left. It was a rather uneventful wait. To kill some time, James told Caleb about Aurora. Caleb wondered if they would have to fly a bunch of panther cubs with them whenever they next traveled. James hadn’t considered that, but he supposed so.

  About an hour before the dinner was scheduled to start, the curious Estilorians that Gabriel had predicted showed up. James was rather surprised that he recognized nearly everyone in the group.

  “Hello, James,” the front-runner said as the group approached. “Caleb.”

  “Dacian,” they replied in neutral tones.

  Dacian, being an Orculesti, had dark green eyes. His hair was a dark reddish-brown, worn in an elaborate and, James thought, ridiculous poof on his head. He was tall, but stood a couple inches shorter than either Gloresti. He was dressed in elaborate evening wear, complete with a frilly cravat, high collar and a jacket with tails. Behind him were about ten other males, all in a wide variety of formal wear. James spotted several other Orculesti he knew, as well as a few Scultresti and a couple of Lekwuesti.

  He had never liked Dacian. He found the Orculesti arrogant and insufferable.

  “I see archigos Gabriel has you two doing all the work while he is off doing whatever he feels like,” Dacian said smugly, telling James that things had not changed during his absence these past two decades. There were a couple of grunts of agreement behind him.

  Do you sense him trying to read your thoughts? James asked Caleb.

  Yes. Amateur. After Knorbis’ training, he’s pathetic.

  James idly realized Caleb had used a contraction in his thought. Neither of them responded to Dacian’s comment. They just stood there looking distinctly bored.

  “We are curious about the half-human females,” Dacian said, seemingly unbothered by their lack of response. “Is it true that they are all deformed and the Lekwuesti are having to work extra hard to make them presentable?”

  James clenched his jaw. Where had Dacian heard such a thing?

  Caleb, on the other hand, grinned fiercely and briefly. Then he said simply, “Leave.” There was no room for argument in his tone.

  Dacian’s nostrils flared in indignation. “Just because you are both embarrassed by being made to watch over the half-humans does not mean you can be rude to us.”

  James then sensed Gabriel’s impending arrival. Caleb evidently did, as well.

  “Are you saying that you believe that archigos Gabriel’s avowed is less than acceptable?” Caleb asked mildly. James lifted a brow.

  “From what we have heard, I do not know how he tolerates bedding her every night,” Dacian replied with a disapproving sneer in his voice.

  James and Caleb both smiled then. Everyone in the group looked shocked and baffled by their reactions. Humor was foreign to them.

  “Welcome back, archigos Gabriel,” the two Gloresti said to their leader at the same time.

  Watching the color leech from Dacian’s face when he realized who was standing behind him was an astonishingly satisfying experience, James decided. He probably should have felt some kind of sympathy, as the Orculesti certainly looked as though he wanted to throw himself out the nearest window. But he simply couldn’t muster any.

  Dacian’s eyes blinked rapidly as he slowly turned to look behind him, swallowing audibly. The group of males who had come with him all backed away, distancing themselves.

  “What was that you were saying about my wife, Dacian?” Gabriel asked calmly. He had his hands behind his back in a casual stance. James saw the cold fire in his leader’s eyes, however, and imagined Dacian did, as well. “I would very much like to hear you say it to me directly.”

  “I-I-I—” Dacian stuttered, his hands rising and falling as though they had no idea what to do with themselves.

  “That’s exactly what I thought,” Gabriel said, his expression contained. “Now then,” and here, his tone grew frigid, “why don’t we step on down the hall to this handy room so that I can explain in explicit detail exactly what I will do to anyone who insinuates anything remotely slanderous about my wife or her sisters in the future.”

  Dacian made a sound almost like a whimper.

  Gabriel waved Dacian ahead of him down the hall, ever the gentleman. Then, as he fell into step behind the Orculesti, he added loud enough for the others to hear, “And I believe we might just have to have a little demonstration of those consequences for the whole ‘bedding her’ comment.”

  James and Caleb stared pointedly at the remaining males until they all bumped into each other trying to get away.

  Then they laughed like idiots.

  “Look at me, Liv—I’m Cinderella!” Skye declared breathlessly.

  She really was, Olivia realized, right down to the upswept hair in a high pile of artlessly arranged curls topped with a sparkling diamond tiara. Skye’s gown was a diaphanous blue, shining almost silver depending upon the light. The strapless gown had a modest, scalloped neckline and was laced in a loose pattern in the back that left a wide V of tanned skin exposed. The fitted bodice was embroidered with swirls of silver and midnight blue threads designed much like the blue swirls tattooed on Skye’s right shoulder blade and around her eyes. The gown’s floor-length skirts billowed out around her like a cloud. The small diamonds that the Lekwuesti had adhered to the edges of her eyes between her natural blue markings winked in the light. Completing the outfit was a diamond choker necklace, two dangling diamond earrings and coordinating, elbow-length sleeves that she wore on either arm. They were like gloves without hands, coming to a point over the backs of her hands.

  “You’re going to knock ‘em dead,” Olivia grinned.

  “I know!” Skye lifted her voluminous skirts and thrust out one of her feet. “And look!”

  Gaping in disbelief, Olivia studied the remarkable shoes. The low-heeled slippers looked like glass. “What are these made of?” she asked curiously.

  “I have no idea,” Skye giggled. “I was telling Pavati, Fanette and Erwina about the Cinderella story earlier, and they surprised me with these.”

  Olivia shook her head in wonder. She had never seen anything like it. And she knew that Skye was relishing every single minute of being dressed and treated like a princess.

  “No, no, no!” came Amber’s irritated voice from her bedroom.

  Since they were in Olivia’s bedroom and the door to Amber’s bedroom was open, they could hear everything going on next door. The sisters glanced toward the bedroom door, then exchanged a look when they heard Amber make a sound something like a growl.

  She’s hungry, Olivia thought.

  And probably tired, Skye returned. I’ll go see what I can do.

  Olivia nodded, then turned to the only Lekwuesti still in her room. The others had gone to get dressed for dinner as soon as Olivia was ready. It was actually a relief to not be surrounded by all of the madness anymore, she thought. And she really liked the remaining Lekwuesti. Her name was Brenna and she was very sweet. For some reason, the female wore a veil over the entire bottom half of her face. The only visible part of her face was her friendly lavender eyes. Olivia suspected that she was self-conscious. Brenna had barely interacted with the other females and had been treated notably different. Because she had been so kind to Olivia and Olivia would only treat her the same, they had bonded quickly.

  “Brenna, I hate to bother you,” she said, “but could you po
ssibly, um, create some fruit or something?”

  “You are hungry?” Brenna asked in a musical voice.

  “You are not caking that all over my face, by all holy sake,” Amber snapped.

  Wincing, Olivia said, “Um, no, actually, it’s for—”

  Amber whipped into the room from her own, followed closely by Skye. Olivia’s eyes widened. Amber looked absolutely stunning. In fact, her appearance was almost more remarkable than Skye’s in that it was such a dramatic departure from her usual tank top and shorts or pants.

  The ball gown designed for her eldest sister was not quite as voluminous as Skye’s, though the skirts did bell out like a traditional ball gown. The shimmering fabric was a burnt-gold color several shades darker than Amber’s eyes, accented with lighter gold thread detailing. The Lekwuesti had incorporated the blue-gray color from Amber’s markings in subtle trim and an underskirt. The gown was designed with a large split down the front of the gold overskirt to reveal the blue-gray fabric beneath it. Dark blue threads woven into the underskirt reflected the light. Unlike Skye’s gown, Amber’s bodice was fitted only to the middle of her ribcage and then started flaring into her skirts. In the center of the rather low-cut bodice was a four-gemmed broach of white gold and honey amber to match her ring. This had been paired with matching dangling earrings and a simple pendant that sat at the base of her throat. The gown’s two-inch wide straps were designed to sit off the shoulder, drawing attention to her shapely, well-defined arms and making her look quite sultry and alluring. The nearly completely open back of the dress contributed to this impression.

  Of course, Olivia thought, at the moment Amber just looked like she wanted to kill someone.

  She glanced again at Brenna and realized the Lekwuesti had honored her request. An assortment of finger food was now sitting on her bedside table.

  “Don’t make me sit in there another minute, Liv,” Amber begged. “They want to put makeup on me now. For heaven’s sake, didn’t I let them do this to my hair?” She indicated the lovely and elegant twist that had been pinned into place with white gold and honey amber pins as though it had been a tremendous trial on her part. And Olivia knew it had been.

  “Here,” she said sympathetically. “Sit and eat. I’ll speak with your Lekwuesti.”

  Amber didn’t argue, proving that Skye had been right about her exhaustion. In the end, Olivia dismissed all but one of Amber’s Lekwuesti to go and get themselves ready, insisting they would be fine. And somewhat to Olivia’s surprise, the remaining female, Tabitha, appeared to be fast friends with the quiet Brenna. When they called out to the Lekwuesti, Pavati, still remaining in Skye’s room, she came in and joined them. The three Lekwuesti appeared to be a kind of unit.

  After she had eaten and had a few minutes of peace, Amber was much more manageable. She allowed the remaining Lekwuesti to apply their cosmetics without further complaint. At one point, she reached up to scratch her forehead and Brenna gasped.

  Raising an eyebrow, Amber said, “What?”

  The Lekwuesti bowed her head, appearing embarrassed. “I am terribly sorry,” she said. “I only just noticed your scar.”

  She was referring to the thin red line running along the inside of Amber’s right forearm. It looked almost like someone had taken a permanent marker to her skin. The scar used to run right up to the palm of her hand, but now stopped at the wrist marking they had all created. She had received the scar and two others on her person when she was struck by Angius’ cursed blade and then healed.

  “Oh,” Amber said with a shrug. “It doesn’t hurt or anything.”

  “Are you not…sensitive about it?” Brenna asked cautiously from behind her veil. Olivia noticed Brenna’s two friends exchanging worried looks and suspected that the conversation was not something that Sebastian would condone. Even on the human plane, it was rather rude. But she sensed the deeper meaning behind the question and knew Amber did, too.

  “Why should I be?” Amber responded. “I’m alive. What’s more important than that?”

  “But what if others ridicule you? What if living itself becomes painful?”

  Olivia kept her expression carefully contained, but felt the emotional response to the poignant question flowing through both of her sisters, as well.

  “Anyone who judges someone based on their appearance isn’t someone worth knowing, in my opinion,” Amber said carefully. “We all have scars. Some of them are just more visible than others.”

  Olivia saw the sadness and the agreement in Brenna’s eyes. She also understood that Amber’s opinion must be in the distinct minority on this plane. Pavati and Tabitha exchanged another look, their hearts obviously hurting for their friend. Although she knew it wouldn’t be welcome, Olivia couldn’t stop the pity and empathy for Brenna from affecting her.

  Then Amber tilted her head, holding Brenna’s gaze. “Will you show me your scar?”

  “How dare you ask that?” Tabitha demanded, moving closer to Brenna and Amber where they sat across from each other.

  “No, Tabitha,” Brenna said, evidently seeing that Amber had asked with a purpose. “Thank you for defending me. But I do not mind.”

  And she unhooked her veil, allowing her full face to show.

  The disfiguring scar ran from the bridge of her nose along her left cheekbone and along the side of her neck. Olivia blinked back tears. She didn’t know how the Lekwuesti had survived it.

  “Uncursed Mercesti blade?” Amber asked in her calm voice.

  Brenna nodded.

  “Will you allow me to touch you?” Amber asked.

  Olivia’s eyes burned in earnest then. She saw Skye fighting the same battle.

  “I…suppose so,” Brenna replied hesitantly.

  Nodding, Amber quietly reached up with both hands and placed them on either side of Brenna’s face. Pavati and Tabitha gasped at the glow of gold light that suddenly appeared. The glow continued for several minutes. Amber’s eyes were closed in concentration. And then, she pulled her hands away.

  All that remained of Brenna’s scar was an almost invisible white line.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Brenna obviously had no way of knowing what had just happened. To her, she probably felt exactly the same. But she recognized the shock on her friends’ faces. She leaped from her chair and hurried over to a wall mirror.

  Her expression was beyond priceless.

  There was a great deal of weeping and hugging among the sisters and the three Lekwuesti friends, and in the end, they had a great deal of work to do repairing the damage done to their makeup in time for the dinner. Olivia kept fretting that she would drip mascara or eyeliner onto her beautiful gown and had to be reassured several times that she had nothing to worry about. She couldn’t help it, though. She had never been dressed in anything so magnificent in all her life.

  Her gown was almost simple compared to her sisters’. The base color was amethyst purple. Like Skye’s gown, the bodice was fitted through to her waist and then flared gently into a bell-shaped, floor-length skirt. The designers had incorporated peridot green to emphasize her eyes. A band of fabric in the gorgeous color started as a narrow strip over her left shoulder, crossed her chest, and then grew wider as it joined her skirt at the waist. Her right shoulder was bare. The purple bodice beneath the peridot strip formed a straight line across her chest and then dipped down low in the back. At the juncture where the peridot fabric started in the skirt, there was a broach of amethysts and peridots. Her jewelry was also a mix of the richly-colored stones. She even had two small amethysts on either side of her eyes alongside her green markings, much like Skye’s diamond adornments, and some gems incorporated into the beautiful braided up-do of her hair.

  When the Lekwuesti were done, they insisted that the sisters look into a mirror together.

  “We are totally hot,” Skye said with a grin. “Gabriel is going to all but drool when he sees you, Amber. Your eyes could stop a train, they’re so vivid.”

  Amber blushed an
d elbowed Skye as Olivia smiled at them.

  “And, Liv—holy cow!” Skye continued enthusiastically, turning and looking at her. “You’re absolutely gorgeous. I’ll bet James won’t stop staring at you for at least an hour. You’re so completely buff now!”

  Understanding Skye’s need to have this pep talk before they went out and allowed everyone to gawk at them, she responded, “Well, you look like a princess, Skye. The sight of you will knock the wind out of everyone in the room. You’re absolutely breathtaking.”

  “Yeah, we’re not half-bad,” Amber said, earning light shoves from her sisters. She laughed.

  They turned to thank Brenna, Tabitha and Pavati, all of whom could not have been more humble and thankful for Amber’s gift. They had agreed to do their best to keep from broadcasting Amber’s talent, as they knew the last thing she wanted was to have every Estilorian with an ache or pain standing outside her door every day. She would never get any peace.

  Amber nodded resolutely and caught her sisters’ gazes one last time in the mirror. Then she said, “Let’s go show ‘em how it’s done.”

  James, Caleb and Gabriel had been occupying their time in the hallway with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors when the door to Amber and Gabriel’s bedroom opened. They all turned and watched the three Lekwuesti females nod and hurry past, obviously intending to go and change for the dinner event. They executed curtseys to Gabriel before departing.

  The sisters walked out right behind them.

  It was several long moments before James thought to breathe. By then, Olivia was standing right in front of him. He tried to command his tongue to work so that he could say something to her, but his brain had to catch up first.

  “Well, well, well,” Gabriel said appreciatively in his human drawl. He took Amber’s left hand in his and bent at the waist to execute a gentlemanly kiss on her hand. “You are positively spectacular, wife.”