Page 90 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

Her eyes narrow. “I want to see them. Now.”

I consider refusing, but this is why I requested her help. I ring for Khrint and instruct him to summon the Evans sisters.

They arrive moments later, Lara striding in with that defiant grace that makes my blood burn, Izzy following withmore calculated wariness, both wearing court dresses Madame Evangeny created.

Uanna circles them slowly as Lara glares at her. “Well. At least they’re pretty. That’s something.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Izzy says.

Uanna stops in front of Lara. “Though beauty means little if you can’t master proper etiquette.”

“Don’t be a bitch,” Lara says.

“She’s here to help you,” I snap, but Lara simply shrugs.

Uanna’s smile turns predatory. “Show me your court curtsy.”

I watch as Lara demonstrates, and even I can see the slight wobble in her execution. Uanna clicks her tongue disapprovingly.

“Disaster. Absolute disaster.” She whirls to face me. “You expect me to make them presentable by the beginning of the summit?”

“I expect you to do whatever necessary to ensure our survival.”

Her nostrils flare, but she nods sharply. “Fine. But we do this properly.”

I wonder how she’ll handle working with Vazor on this.

She turns back to the sisters. “You’ll both dress formally for dinner tonight. We’ll begin with proper dining etiquette.”

“We’ve been practicing with—” Izzy starts to say, but Uanna cuts her off.

“Not enough. Clearly not enough.” She gestures imperiously toward the door. “Go. Change. We’ll see if you can manage to walk in full court attire without embarrassing yourselves.”

The sisters exchange glances, but when I nod, they withdraw. Only once they’re gone does Uanna turn back to me.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Ivrael.” Her voice drops to barely above a whisper. “Firelords, untrained hybrids, court politics... One wrong move and we all freeze. Or burn.”

“Then we’ll have to ensure there are no wrong moves.”

She studies me for a long moment. “You’ve changed. The Ivrael I knew would never risk so much on such an uncertain gamble.”

“The Ivrael you knew died the day he realized our magic was disappearing.”

Pain flashes across her face before her court mask slips back into place. “Perhaps he did. I hope this new version knows what he’s doing.”

“I do.”

She moves toward the door, then pauses. “I’ll make sure your humans survive the peace summit. But not for you—for me. I refuse to die because you’ve become a martyr.”

She sweeps out, and I turn back to the window, watching as fresh snow begins to fall.

Frost creeps across the glass, obscuring my reflection. Soon I’ll have to join them for dinner, have to watch Uanna pick apart every flaw in their presentation while pretending it doesn’t matter.

Have to maintain my mask of cold control while everything inside me burns.

The irony would be amusing if it weren’t so deadly.

And the circumstances so utterly beyond my control.

---