“No, Ember, you look like a warrior queen.” Flora winks at me then comes to stand beside me so I can see her reflection in the mirror. “You are much kinder than I thought you would be,” she admits.
“What? How did you think I would be?”
“The king is—”
The door opens, interrupting her, and the woman I saw earlier with the king steps in. Lips pursed together, she studies Flora with a scowl. I glance over and see that my new friend has dropped her gaze to the floor.
“Leave us, handmaiden.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She curtseys.
“Bye, Flora!” I call after her. She smiles softly before disappearing into the hall.
“We didn’t have a chance to meet properly earlier,” the woman says as she moves farther into the room. “I am Lloren. Advisor to the king.” As she turns her sharp gaze on me, I get the sudden urge to shrink down as though to not be seen as a threat.
Thank you, Animal Planet, for that visual.
“Ember.”
She purses pale lips. “As the king mentioned, we’ve been awaiting your arrival.”
“And why is that, I wonder? Because he expects to marry me?”
The woman’s eyes narrow. “I would beg of you to not believe everything you hear from the staff. They have their own opinions, but they are opinions of the uneducated.”
“That’s harsh.”I don’t like or trust you one bit.
“It is our way.” She smiles, but it looks forced; unnatural on her face.
“I’m dressed and ready to go,” I say, eager to get out of her presence and somewhere less private. The woman makes my skin crawl.
“You will change your gown. White is the color of the king.”
I take note of her pristine snowy dress, the way there’s not a single stain on the fabric. Heck, I once wore a white t-shirt to a barbeque and ended up with a brown sauce stain the size of a softball within the first ten minutes. “I will not change. As it happens, I like this dress and don’t appreciate being told what I can and can’t wear.”
There’s that smile again.“You will do as you’re told, Ember. Because it is our custom, and you are a guest in our world now.”
“A guest that can leave?”
With a chuckle, she turns to leave. “You don’t wish to change tonight. Fine, but after tonight, you will no longer wear that rebel color in our presence. Come with me. I shall show you the way to dinner.”
Rebel color.I don’t miss her non-answer or the chill that shoots up my spine as I start to follow her.But none of this is real, right?Out of curiosity, and to put my mind at ease, I reach over and pinch my arm. Pain shoots through my nerves, and I wince.
But it’s no match for the panic that steadily begins to build upon itself in my gut, settling in deep like boulders in a lake. When supernaturals were supposedly outed last year, I’d dismissed it. I mean, come on. Vampires, werewolves, witches? Those belong in stories, not reality.
And let’s be honest, I had much bigger things to worry about than what is or isn’t lurking in the dark.
However, for the first time, I find myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, this isn’t some dream. And if it’s not, just how much danger am I in?