Page 47 of Heir of the Beast

I stand up, nerves hitting me hard.

“Okay, start turning. Pierce has your position. He also says you’re welcome. This is payback for us almost getting eaten by those shark-whale things.” She is blinking and rapidly tying.

I turn, and my skin starts to heat and tingle, making me gasp. Even my scalp is alive with sensation, and in the next moment, all I see is a white flash.

I stand there, breathing hard, scared to move a muscle.

Holy…

“I need a mirror,” I barely say.

Mort’s eyes are wide as she stares at me, nodding without words. “I will ask Pierce.” In the next second, it is like Star Trek Enterprise beams down a full-body mirror.

I stand in front of it and gawk.

“Mort,” I say.

“Look at your shoes, that was me,” she murmurs. “Pierce is pretty good, I will admit.”

What I am staring at is a woman that is not real—maybe an illusion. I thought Charming might put me in red or purple. What I was not expecting was to be transformed into Queen Bee.

Black lace and yellow satin. The yellow is not like the lovely sunlight but intense fire. Like when you catch a rare glimpse of stark yellow in a river of flowing lava—that yellow.

The shimmer to the silk seems almost enchanted, lit from within. My waist appears to be insanely tiny, and my breasts are pushed up in a way that doesn’t seem possible without ten rolls of tape.

The yellow silk is like a second skin on my body until it reaches my curvy hips, then it flares out dramatically. White and black stripes adorn the petticoats, and I even see a layer of black and yellow polka dots.

It is beyond stunning with an old gangster, mob-ish feel to it. My long black gloves match my sparkly half-mask with bright yellow and black feathers.

I take a steady breath, loving the style of this alternate world. Pierce does not mess around, and he means business.

My hair is up and piled artfully. The raven locks almost resemble plastic. My blood-red lips look bee-stung, and my smoky eyes under my mask make my one gold eye appear stark yellow.

I see why Charming picked yellow now.

I look like a feline.

Pierce also included a short, black lace veil, if I choose to shield my eye color and still want to be able to see—brilliant. That is a must.

I smile and laugh, looking at Mort with wide, unbelieving eyes. “How the heck am I going to wear this?!” I am already shaking, and I have not even left the room yet.

I will have to dodge Apollo and Laura like the plague, but hey, when in Rome.

Mort holds out her fist to pound, and we both laugh.

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Chapter 12

We finally make it to the last hallway that will lead us to the royal ballroom in our dark cloaks. My heart is pounding, and my knees feel weak.

This is not the time to get cold feet.

“Mort, are you sure people will not ask who I am? My dress is an eye-catcher, to put it mildly. I would hate for the royal guard to be called,” I say dryly.

“Five hundred people are in attendance tonight. I think you will be fine. Tonight is about mystery anyway, and I think it’s rude to ask someone’s name.”

“That’s a lot of people,” I whisper with a frown.

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