Page 65 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

“What?”

“To the ball,” Lissa said. “There is a dress code, you know.”

“I, uh…” I hadn’t gotten that far. “I guess I could run out and buy something?”

The vampire let out a tinkling laugh, then realized I wasn’t joking and bit her lip. “No, that won’t do at all,” she said. “Come on. I’ll take care of you, darling.”

She managed to untangle herself from her husband and led me to a door. She flung it open dramatically, revealing a walk-in closet bigger than my first two apartments combined. “Welcome to my domain,” she said regally.

Lissa measured me, whisked me into gown after gown, and held up swatches of fabric to my face with the assessing eye and seriousness of a bomb technician. One entire wall of her wardrobe was dedicated to a sewing studio, and she worked incredibly fast, armed with enchanted tools that, to my eye, must have cost thousands.

“So many dresses made for women of my proportions are frumpy,” Lissa explained around a mouthful of pins. “Back when I was young, this sort of voluptuousness”—she emphasized the word with a shimmy—“was highly desirable, a sign of opulence and fertility. These days, designers seem to think I want to buy potato sacks with cheap rhinestones.” She scoffed, tossing her head. “I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

“You made all your stuff?” I asked, eyeing the sheer quantity of clothing around me with awe.

“Most of it. A few are commissions, couture from the very best of houses. None from human designers, unfortunately, since they tend to have an unhelpful number of mirrors in their fitting rooms. Besides, I find making my own clothing immensely satisfying.”

“That’s amazing,” I told her genuinely. “Seriously, you’re so talented.”

“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” Her eyes crinkled as she smiled up at me. “And now you get an exclusive creation of mine, all for yourself. A rare pleasure. Only a few have had the honor, and most of them live here.”

That evening, I stood in front of the mirror in the guest suite. The gown was… well, it was a masterpiece, and easily the most beautiful thing I’d ever worn. It was a stormy dark color, somewhere between blue, gray, and purple, fitted and slinky with straps that Lissa had managed to make look like they were about to slip down my arms. The silk velvet had been adorned with delicate golden beading that formed tiny constellation-like shapes. The slit up the one side damn near showed my entire leg. It was a little higher than I would’ve picked for myself, but when I looked in the mirror, I had to admit that Lissa’s creation was perfection. She’d even included accessories—long gloves that left barely an inch of pale skin showing between where they ended, and the dress’s straps began. A delicate golden chain with a single purple-gray pearl hung perfectly between my collarbones, and pearls hanging on long, golden chains from my earlobes emphasized the long line of my neck. There was even a little clutch, which I had already loaded up with potions and charms. Well, potions, charms, and my lipstick.

Lissa had insisted on doing my hair and makeup, while Vic and Theo helped Gabriel. Somehow, she’d managed to tame my curls into an elegant updo, held in place with tiny gold pins that caught the light when I turned my head. The mask was the same color as the dress, but made out of layer after layer of something sheer and satiny that twisted away from my face like flames, blending into the embellishments in my hair.

I looked hot as fuck. Ethereal, otherworldly, and powerful in a way I wasn’t used to. I took the mask off, feeling the bizarre need to reassure myself that, yes, it was still me. I smiled at myself, a little bemused.

All right. I could do this.

I gave Pothos a pat for good luck and headed out into the hall. A door opened behind me, and I turned around. It was Gabriel, wearing a full-on tailcoat, the entire outfit in black fabric so dark that it looked like someone had cut a hole in reality.

It suddenly struck me all over again how tall he was, and how sharp the taper from his shoulders to his waist was. He looked like an apex predator.

He looked like a prince.

I stepped closer. Delicate gold embroidery had been worked over his shoulders, trailing down his sleeves and chest as though someone had sprinkled starlight over him. His pocket square was the same stormy color as my dress—the same color as his eyes, I realized. I felt hot all over. We looked like a matching set.

“You look…” Gabriel said hoarsely.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice just as rough. “You, too.”

The other vampires were waiting for us in the atrium. I felt a little like it was my prom night, and my parents were waiting to take photos of me and my date posing awkwardly on the stairs before we left. This time, though, my bra wasn’t padded with tissues, and my date was much handsomer. Less likely to barf Smirnoff Ice on my shoes, too.

“Oh, you look perfect,” Lissa murmured, clasping her hands together. Vic hovered by her side as though he was waiting to catch her if she fell. Theo let out a wolf whistle, and I smiled. Lissa adjusted the fall of my skirt, then the knot of Gabriel’s bowtie. Although, as far as I could tell it looked exactly the same afterwards.

“You’ve outdone yourself yet again,” Gabriel told her, his voice soft and affectionate.

“Yes, I know,” Lissa said, fluttering her eyelashes. I grinned. “Evangeline, darling, how’s the fit on everything?”

“Flawless,” I told her.

“Wonderful, wonderful. I had to make a few guesses with the undergarments, of course. Not too skimpy?” she asked, her face a mask of innocence.

“Just skimpy enough,” I said, completely deadpan, carefully not looking at Gabriel.

“You’re truly a woman after my own heart,” Lissa said.

“Yeah, we might have to keep you around,” Theo agreed. “You two should get going, though. Car’s waiting.”

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