Page 86 of Magic Forsaken

“Yes,” she said, nodding fiercely while her hands made little grabby motions. “Just,yes.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so, but… I agree.” The naiad shrugged and grinned at me. “It’s you. Or maybe it’s that it makes you evenmoreyou. Which doesn’t make sense, but I think you know what I mean.”

Strangely enough, after braving a look in the mirror, I did.

For almost ten years, I’d felt like a stranger in my own body. Avoided looking at my reflection. It wasn’t only the hair and the eyes. It was what they represented—the heritage of power that didn’t belong to me. I was sharing my body with ghosts, and I hated the reminder.

But the woman in the mirror… She didn’t look like a coward. She wasn’t afraid of her power, or the ones who’d stolen her life.She took what they’d done to her, forged armor from her scars, and chose to fight back.

I’d set my foot on that path, but it wasn’t until I faced my own reflection that I realized I was still hesitating. Part of me remained in hiding, bound by guilt as much as by fear. I’d told Callum I wanted to fight, but if the moment came where I was forced to choose between revealing the truth and continuing to hide who I’d become… Which way would I turn?

Could I own up to my scars if it meant losing all of the fragile new connections I’d formed since coming here?

“Well, that’s one thing down,” Kira said brightly. “Shoes and hair?”

I’d been so lost in my own thoughts, I’d almost forgotten I still needed to make an excuse for not buying the dress.

“I need to think about it,” I told her briskly. “And I don’t really want to draw attention to my hair. Do we have to do anything special to it?”

Marilee laughed, and the sound was exactly what I would have expected from a naiad—an effervescent peal of joy, echoing with the sounds of rippling water. It reminded me of spring and happiness and made me wish I could hear her laugh again, even if I knew it was at my expense.

“Your hair,” she said, once she’d stopped chuckling at my naivety, “is going to draw attention no matter what, because it’sgorgeous. But even if you want to wear it down, it still needs to be styled for an event like this. Why don’t you get changed and then we can go chat about it over a late lunch?”

I’d heard of this sort of thing—lunch with the girls. Girl talk. Bonding time over bowls of salad. It might be less terrifying to face Talia again, but before I could figure out a polite way to object, I was bundled back into the dressing room.

The saleslady asked for the dress back while I was still buttoning my shirt, as if she suspected I might try to steal ordamage it, so I handed it over with a fake smile. Promising myself silently that someday, I would be able to afford a dress that made me feel that way again.

No, it wasn’t really about the clothes. More like a goal. Something to work towards. A reason to learn to be comfortable in my own skin.

When I emerged, Kira was wearing an expression of puppy-like innocence and Marilee was smirking as the saleslady shoved a dress bag into my hands.

“Thank you so much for choosing Très Beau for your formal event needs,” she said with a wide, fake, customer-service smile.

“But I didn’t…”

“Thank you,” Marilee chirped politely in return, before grabbing my arm and physically tugging me out of the store behind her.

“I said I had to think about it,” I hissed, almost stumbling as I recalled the staggering price tag hanging from the gorgeous white gown.

“And we’re very, very sorry,” Kira said, not sounding even remotely repentant. “But youneedto wear that dress, so we decided to buy it. We knew you wouldn’t let us do it if we told you beforehand, so we resorted to subterfuge. As penance, we’ll take you wherever you want to go for lunch.”

For a moment, I didn’t actually know how to feel, let alone what to say. I tried to be mad, and failed. I was definitely a little embarrassed—they’d obviously known why I was hesitating. But why should I feel ashamed of my situation? I’d had everything taken from me, and I was fighting my way back a little at a time.

And this formal dress-up party had never been my idea. It was part of my job. I was literally being paid to wear a fancy gown and mingle with powerful people for an evening, and hopefully to prevent anyone from committing murder or starting a war in the process.

And if there was a tiny part of me that wondered whether Callum would like the way I looked while I was doing it?

I carefully stuffed that delusional part of myself back down where it belonged.

“I feel like maybe you don’t actually know what penance means,” I muttered, before offering them both a wobbly smile. “But thank you. Someday I’ll pay you back, even if it’s not with money.”

“If you can keep my brother safe,” Kira said softly, “I’ll be more than repaid.”

I wished I could promise her that. “I’m going to try,” I said instead.

“Then that’s payment enough for me.”

That’s when she hugged me and everyone started crying and I was very thankful a certain dragon wasn’t there to see me turn into a squishy, emotional mess.

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