Page 78 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

Pink fills her cheeks and she looks away. “Let me touch up your eyes, and then you and the mister will be ready to leave.”

She moves around, brushing and rubbing things onto my skin. I hold back another sneeze and my eyes keep closing on their own as she does her thing. Finally, she stops and steps back. “What do you think?”

I blink a few times before turning to look in the mirror. The woman staring back at me is a stranger. I reach up to touch my hair, and the only indication the regal person in the mirror is my reflection is that she moves exactly as I do.

“Do you need me to fix anything?”

“I… no. It’s perfect.” I stare, trying to find any remnant of me in there underneath the fancy clothes, the stiff hairstyle, and the makeup.

“Are you sure? I can touch up your lips.”

I just shake my head, still unable to believe the sight before me.

“Very well.” She exits, and I take another moment to commit the sight to memory. How is it possible that I look like a completely different person? I’m still me. Just… fancier.

A knock sounds at the bedroom door. “Eira?”

My heart leaps into my throat. Harek. What will he think of how I look?

“H-hold on. I’m almost ready.” I close the bathroom door and gasp for air as I take in my reflection again. He might think I look ridiculous, because I do. I should be in rags scooping scat. How is it possible I have people servingme?

I’m such an imposter. Everyone will take one look at me and know it. I shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be in these clothes. Nobody gave me a second glance yesterday because I wore dirty, dingy clothes and was caked in dirt with pine needles sticking out from my hair.

That’s me. Not this person. But there isn’t anything I can do about it now. It would probably hurt Summer’s feelings if I undid all of this, and besides, I need to get to the library and see what I can find out about my father—and if he’s really weakening because of me.

As nice as Vivvi has been, feeding us and giving us such a nice place to stay, I can’t assume anything she says is true. We just met her and don’t know her motives.

She could be completely wrong about my father, and he might be willing to give Harek and me a place to stay. Something a little more normal. Not that I don’t enjoy this high-class life, but I’d feel more comfortable in something a little less extravagant. And we need to get out of this building to find any of that.

I take a deep breath while taking one last glance at the stranger in the reflection, then I swing open the door.

Harek is at the bedroom window, looking out. His clothes are just as ridiculous as mine at least. We’ll both look about the same while wandering around the fae city.

He turns around, and I don’t recognize him any more than I recognize myself. This just isn’t us, but I can’t deny how good he looks. I could get used to this.

No. This isn’t us. We’re not afraid to get messy—something we clearly can’t do in these clothes. We just spent a week in the woods, warding off evil fae. But also struggling to fill our bellies. Now we’re eating food better than I ever could have imagined two days ago.

His eyes widen, and he makes his way over to me. “You look…”

“Ridiculous?” I offer.

“Gorgeous.”

“Oh.” Heat floods my cheeks. “Thanks. So do you.”

He adjusts his shirt. “The clothes are so stiff.”

“They’re definitely tighter than I’m used to.”

“So, you want to find that library?”

“Yes. I need to find out everything I can about the hunter line. If what Vivvi said is true…” I let my voice trail off because Idon’t know what I’ll do if only one hunter can live at a time. I just lost my mother. There’s no way I can kill my father.

Aside from that, what would happen if I absorb his magic? He’s probably far more powerful than the fae I killed. There’s no telling what his magic would do to me.

Harek holds out his hand. “Let’s do this.”

I hesitate before taking his hand. Hopefully I’m ready for whatever we find.

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