Page 142 of Mama Si's Paradise

But she shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Fall. But keep wearing that ring. It becomes you,” she said, going closer and closer to the corner. “Remind me because I forget—did I tell you that that amethyst is magical?”

“I—what?” Surprised, I raised my brows.

“Yes, magical,” Genevieve said. “It’s undetectable, and it can turn you perfectly invisible to everything when you’re not in the Whispering Woods. Not physically, mind you, but magically. Even the curse wouldn’t be able to find you at all.” And she winked.

“Oh.” What the fuck was I supposed to say to that? “No, I didn’t know that.”

She leaned her head against the wall of the corner, half her body disappeared around it already. She lookedat melike a loving mother, too. I don’t know why that broke my heart a little, but I no longer tried to follow after her.

“Do you know another thing I’m curious about, though?”

“Uh…no. What are you curious about?” If I knew something she didn’t, there was no harm in telling her, was there? She’d been here so much longer than me, anyway.

“What changed?” she said as she stared at the floor, almost like she was talking to herself.

“About what?”

“Aboutyou,Fall. Why are the brothers so desperate for you so suddenly?” Every hair on my body was suddenly standing at attention. “Grey, I understand. Valentine, too—but the rest, why? What changed?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I hadn’t even thought about it at all, to be honest.

She squinted her eyes at me. “Aren’t you curious, though?”

Well, of course, I was curious. I was curious abouteverythingall the damn time! “I-I-I—wait!”

Genevieve slipped around the corner. “Take care, Fall!” she sang, her voice already distant, and I knew that even if I chased after her, I wouldn’t catch her. The way sheglidedon the floor was insane, and my feet were stuck to it, my mind a vortex all of a sudden. I couldn’t focus on a single thought for a long time.

Eventually, I made my way back to the fifth tower and straight to my room because there was no way I could eat lunch now without throwing up. And since Valentine was back from Mount Erid, I’d just wait for him to come find me after dinner so we could go to the theatre, and I could play this madness away on the piano.

I fixed my makeup.I combed my hair nicely—it didn’t even take effort to make my natural waves stand in place now. It had also grown at least an inch since I came here. No frizz, just shine. And my skin hadn’t seen a pimple since I’d been thrown into the darkness of the Whispering Woods by a dragon.

Not that it mattered, really, but it was something to think about. Something to keep my mind occupied so it didn’t wonder about the castle, the brothers, about Grey and Genevieve and her words. The ring was on my finger—such a beautiful piece.Invisible,she said.Invisible to any magic, even the curse.

Beautiful, yes, but it looked so ordinary I almost laughed.Maybe Genevieve had been messing with me. Because if she hadn’t, I’d be tempted to think,why? Why would she give me something that was surely extremely valuable? Why would she bother?

A knock on my door.

Ring and makeup and everything else forgotten, I shot to my feet and I basically ran to it, forgetting a lot of things—like it was still just four p.m. and we didn’t go to the theatre until after dinner.

I was wearing one of the dresses they’d put in my closet, not my usual pants because I’d gotten nostalgic about that short time in which I actuallyenjoyeddressing up. It was a simple cut, V neck, thick straps, a slit that went up to my thigh, and the hem lightly grazed the floor around my feet. The color of it was a rich green, though, which suited me perfectly. It was in my color palette, as Adam had taught me once, so it made everything about my face look more lively.

Only when I opened the door and saw Valentine’s wide eyes did I remember I had it on.

Valentine definitely noticed. That’s why he froze in place.

“I was just trying it on,” I muttered, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “Why are you here so early?”

The little dragon landed on his shoulder as if he, too, were curious to see why Valentine wasn’t moving or blinking or talking yet.

“Hi, Shadow,” I said, just to give him a moment to collect himself.

“I haven’t seen you in a dress since the day you came here, Sunshine,” Valentine whispered. “You look like a dream.”

Impossible not to smile. “Smooth, Mr. Evernight. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” he said with that wicked grin.

I shook my head, but I was still smiling. “Are we going to the theatre already?”

---