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“That didn’t help,” Erlina said.
Bele giggled, the sound soft and airy. “Sorry. But, hey, at least I’m not talking about the spiders that are the size of a large dog.”
“Spiders the size of a dog?” I whispered.
“Yeah. They love the wetlands. Freaking huge. Scare the shit out of you when you see them scurrying about. But they don’t bite,” she continued while I decided I no longer had any desire to see more of Iliseeum if those things lived in the rest of the realm. “They’re more scared of you than you should be of them.”
“It is impossible not to be afraid of a spider the size of a dog.”
Bele snickered. “Then I probably shouldn’t tell you about the snakes—”
“Please stop talking,” I told her.
The goddess laughed.
Erlina snipped another thread. “It’s okay,” the seamstress said quietly. “You know…if you’re nervous.” She glanced up at me. “Anyone would be.”
“True.” Bele caught the dagger an inch before it plunged into her chest. “It’s not every day that someone is crowned the Consort of the Primal God of Death before a massive crowd made up of gods and Primals.”
I stared at her as she tossed the blade into the air once more. “I hope you drop that dagger, and it ends up in your eye.”
Bele caught it. “And the entirety of Lethe,” she went on. “When I saw Ector earlier, he said that much of the council house was already bursting with people. You know, I’m kind of glad I have to remain behind. That is way too many people.”
My heart hammered. While I was relieved to know that Ector was up and moving about, I was more nervous than I’d thought I would be, and maybe even a little overwhelmed. Okay. A lot overwhelmed, which felt strange considering I had pla
“There.” Erlina straightened and stepped back, eyeing me. “That should be it.”
I blinked, slowly coming back to the moment. “What is?”
“The gown.” The once-Chosen took my hand. “Here.”
She guided me to turn around on the stool so that I faced the standing mirror she had brought in with her. I saw myself.
My hair hadn’t been brushed to within an inch of its life but tamed by some serum Aios had rubbed between her palms after braiding the sides back. Pale curls and waves cascaded down my spine, glistening.
No veil covered my features, but I barely noticed the freckles. A shimmering gold powder highlighted the arch of my brow and cheekbones, and the mocha hue that Aios had lined my lids and lower lashes with somehow deepened the green of my irises. She’d stained my lips a color only a few shades darker than they normally were.
And the gown…
It wasn’t white or transparent but a warm, silver shade close to the rare color of Nyktos’s eyes when he was amused or relaxed. The sleeves were a delicate lace pattern that resembled the scrollwork I often saw on Nyktos’s and his guards’ tunics. That same scrolling design traveled over the rest of the gown, where it fit like a second skin from my breasts to my hips. From there, layers of soft gossamer and chiffon had been painstakingly stitched together so the skirt fell in wispy layers to the floor. Tiny diamonds twinkled from my arms, breasts, the waist, and the skirt. The gown was starlight.
“What do you think?” Erlina asked as she slid the small loop that was co
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“You’re beautiful.” Bele’s face appeared above my shoulder. “Really.”
I cleared my throat. “Thank you.” I turned to Erlina. “Thank you.”
Her golden-brown cheeks warmed. “It was a pleasure and an honor to make this gown.”
“I don’t know how you did all of this. It would’ve taken me years.” I laughed shakily. “Actually, I couldn’t even do this in a lifetime.”
“Same,” Bele murmured, and Erlina shrugged off the comments, but her smile spread.
With Bele’s help, I carefully stepped down from the stool. “Will you be at the coronation?”
Erlina nodded. “Luckily, coronations are much like the Rites. All the mortals and godlings in attendance will be masked.”
I was happy to hear that she would be there, but concern still blossomed as I stepped into heeled shoes. “And will that be safe?”
“Mortals and godlings will be far enough away from the rest that they won’t be able to tell who is among them,” Bele answered. “And most of the Chosen who were brought into the Shadowlands have been here long enough that if any of the gods or Primals fed from them while in Dalos, their blood would’ve weakened by now.”
“Thank the Fates,” Erlina murmured. She then clasped my hands. “I will see you there, Your Highness.”
“Don’t—” Catching Bele’s pointed glare, I sighed. “I will see you there.”
Erlina left then with her sewing bag, leaving the mirror to be retrieved later. Bele closed the door behind her as I went to where the shadowstone dagger and its sheath lay on the chest by the wardrobe.
I picked it up and gently hiked up the skirt.
“What are you…?” Bele chuckled as I strapped the sheath around my thigh. “Nice touch.”
“Never leave without it,” I remarked, securing the sheath and then lowering my foot. I watched the skirt sparkle its way back to the floor.
“Just remember that dagger won’t do shit to a Primal,” Bele offered. “You know, in case any of them decide to give tradition a giant Primal middle finger.”
“Yeah, not like I’m going to forget that after shoving a dagger through Veses’ eye, and her pretty much brushing it off.”
“Fates, I wish I’d been there to see that.”
“It was really gross.” I glanced over at her. “She still sleeps?”
Bele nodded. “Hopefully, for the next hundred years, but I doubt we’ll get that lucky.”
“Yeah, but how long do we have before she’s missed and someone comes looking for her?” I asked. Though, hopefully, Nyktos managed to transfer the embers, and Veses’ whereabouts would be the least of anyone’s concerns as he Ascended as the true Primal of Life.
She snorted. “You really think the crowd Veses runs with would care enough to realize she’s missing? The answer would be no. To be honest, I bet most are grateful she’s gone.”
Well, that kind of…made me sad. And I didn’t want to feel bad for her because I was petty and still didn’t fully understand what the hell was going on between her and Nyktos. He claimed he couldn’t stand her but let her feed from him and do who knew what else. And Veses did care about him, at least enough to not want to see him get in trouble with Kolis.
But I had a feeling someone knew what was going on between them.
“Do you know if Rhain is still here?” I asked.
“He is. He’ll be one of your escorts to Lethe.”
I glanced at the closed doors. Now probably wasn’t the best time for this conversation, but… “I would like to see him really quick, if you know where he’s at.”
Curiosity marked her features. “He’s nearby. I’ll get him.” She looked at the gown. “Remember. Less movement is better.”
“I remember,” I said, smiling, even though standing still while Bele retrieved Rhain was easier said than done. Thankfully, she returned within minutes with one very confused-looking god.
“You needed to see me?” Rhain asked, coming to stand with his hand on the hilt of a sword.
“Yes.” I glanced at Bele. “Can you wait for us in the hall?”
Her brows shot up. “Do I have to?”
“I would like it if you did.”
“But I’m nosy.”
I stared at her while Rhain looked even more bewildered.
“Fine,” Bele grumbled. “I’ll wait in the hall.”
Once the door was closed, I turned to Rhain. “There’s something I need to ask you.”
His head tilted toward the brighter light of the chandelier, turning his hair more red than gold. “And this isn’t something you could ask in front of Bele?”