A knock at the door pulled my attention and Thana entered.
“Did you just wake up? I checked in earlier, but you were still asleep. I’m so glad you and Rogue are alright.”
“Yeah, I just woke up. And thank you. Me too,” I said and gestured to the chairs, but she hesitated. “Listen—”
“I wanted to apologize for my reaction yesterday,” she said in a rush before I could finish.
“No, you don’t need to apologize.I’msorry. I’m sorry for dredging up the painful memories. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You couldn’t have known. It was an innocent question,” she said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Enough of that. We have more exciting things to discuss.” A smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. “Notice I didn’t bring breakfast?”
“Well, I hadn’t, but I do now.” Anticipation fluttered in my gut. “Why? What’s going on?”
“It seems Rogue has requested you join him for breakfast this morning. Apparently, he slept in as well.” I started to protest when she walked to the dresser and continued. “You know this was a gift from Adrastus to Edana. He had hoped pretty clothing would soothe her over. He was a fool, obviously.”
Ah.
She hesitated before pulling the drawer open. The smirk deepened into a grin, her eyes wide, and she peeked over at me mischievously. My head was already shaking as she pulled out a gown made of crimson silk.
“No,” I protested, holding a hand up.
“Oh, yes.” She giggled. “I had always heard of this dresser but never seen it in action. Come on, it’ll be fun,” she insisted, clutching the dress in her hands.
I paused, considering it.I shouldn’t care.I shouldn’t care what his reaction would be to that dress or that it’s the exact shade of his eyes. But even as I thought it, my heart raced at the idea and a thrill of excitement shot through me. I stifled a grin, rolling my eyes, and she squealed.
I’ll be going home soon enough. He has to fulfill the bargain, so what harm could it do?
She rushed over to my side and pulled me to the mirror, holding the dress in front of me. Both of our heads tilted as we admired it.
“How did you get it to give you this?”
“I saw it in a shop once and it just stuck with me,” she said. “And I’m glad it did because Rogue is going to melt at the sight. Or melt all of us. Whichever comes first,” she said with a laugh.
Before I could protest, she urged me to undress, helping me pull the soft silk overhead. As it settled over me, her mouth fell open in awe before curling into a soft smile. She placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me to the mirror, and I stilled.
It was so unlike anything I’d ever worn before.
The silk was a deep maroon red, accentuating the flush of my cheeks and lips. Its halter top came down into a deep v, exposing my cleavage and sternum, coming to a point at my waist. I turned and the back was also completely open, revealing my entire back. There were two slits on either side, exposing my legs all the way to my hip creases, and I knew it would flow as I walked.
My cheeks reddened. I had never exposed this much skin before.
“You look exquisite,” she said proudly.
“Thank you,” I whispered, before turning to her. “Your turn.”
She paused before grinning ear to ear. “Well, who am I to argue?”
As she rushed to the dresser, I glanced back in the mirror. My heart pounded at the thought of Rogue seeing me like this. Grabbing the comb from the table, I attempted to control my bedhead before Thana grabbed it moments later.
“Here, let me.” She brushed through it and pulled half of it up, twisting it into a small bun, leaving a few tendrils of hair framing my face. “Oh!”
She jogged to the dresser and pulled out a small container.
“What’s that?”
“Well, I didn’t know if it would give it to me, but it’s lip rouge.” She tilted my face to hers and rubbed the cream onto my lips. When she was finished, I glanced back at the mirror and my lips were painted the same dark maroon as the dress.
“Thana… I don’t know if I can leave the room like this,” I said doubtfully. Embarrassment pricked at me, and I suddenly felt foolish.