Page 68 of The Wolf

What are you going to do?

She could pick the lock and just go. Scarlet had sneaked out like this countless times to help the small folk of Betraz. All she had to do was wait a few more minutes to ensure her stepmother was truly gone from the manor and then she was free to do so.

But what the devil would she do about her dress?

And would her stepmother prevent her from the challenge once they were in full sight of everyone? She didn’t think so. It wasn’t Arwen’s style to so flagrantly ignore the law. She much preferred to manipulate things from the shadows long before thelawbecame a problem. So Scarlet could sneak out. But if she didn’t leave soon, she would lose her chance to legally stake her claim. She had to move fast.

Without another moment to spare, Scarlet pulled out her lockpicks from a hidden pocket of her mother’s dress—old habits truly did die hard, for it was nestled in there with a dagger—and she prepared to free herself.

She did not expect to be facing her friends, Jaq and Gusal, the moment she opened the door. But it wasn’t just the twins on the other side.

A stranger was with them.

A woman, perhaps a little older than Scarlet, with long, periwinkle hair, leather armor, a tall bow strung over her back, and the walk of a queen.

“Oh, Scarlet,” Gus said, sadly staring at her dress.

“What have you done?” Scarlet asked softly, trying to hold her torn dress together. “Who is she?” The question was harsher than she meant it to be.

“Your fairy godmother,” the woman replied with a smile.

“We’ll watch the door,” Jaq said, when Scarlet did nothing but stare, mouth agape, at him. He and his brother allowed the stranger into Scarlet’s bedroom—Scarlet numbly stepped to the side—before Jaq dutifully closed the door.

When they were alone, the mysterious woman cast her gaze from Scarlet’s head to her feet, then back up, then held out a long bag for her.

“Go on,” she said, her voice somehow both soft and sharp as a sword. “You will need it.”

Scarlet hesitantly took the bag, placed it on her bed, and opened it. Inside was perhaps the most stunning dress she had ever seen. A figure-hugging bodice, inlaid with tiny rubies, with slits cut into the long, flowing skirt to allow for movement. For fighting. It was the color of wine—so dark it was almost black—and was perhaps the mostScarletdress she’d ever seen.

Not that anyone else could have known that, but Scarlet did.

She turned from the dress to face the mysterious woman. “Whoareyou?”

The woman smiled warmly. “A friend, if you’ll have me. I’m here to help.”

“No one does something for nothing,” she said reflexively.

“Maybe among Old Mother’s ilk, but that is not the case for the rest of the world.”

“I don’t trust you.”

The woman laughed. “I suppose you don’t. That will come with time.” She headed for the window. “We will be friends, just wait and see,” she said in an assured manner Scarlet desperately wished she could claim for herself. She nodded toward the bag on her bed. “There are boots in there too. Until next time. And remember … it’s almost midnight.”

Then the woman leapt through the open casement. Scarlet ran across the room to hang out the window to see where she had fallen but found no trace that the woman had ever been there.

Sweet poison. Maybe she was her fairy godmother.

Scarlet stared out at the sky. The moon was barely visible, having been absent from the sky three days prior. She wished it was full. It had always comforted her.

She glanced back at the dress. Her mother’s dress was now torn beyond repair. Scarlet couldn’t repair it in time and had nothing else to wear. Except this one perfect dress, serendipitously gifted to Scarlet at the very moment when she needed it most.

Could she trust the woman? Probably not. But could she wear the dress?

There was no other choice.

“Stepmother be damned,” she cursed, shaking out of her ruined clothes as quickly as she dared. Her hands were trembling. This was the riskiest thing Scarlet had ever done before. The most flagrant display of disobedience.

She knew she’d make a scene when she appeared at the celebration.

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