Page 44 of Monster's Pet

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

“You’re not coming to the dance, right?”

Rhiannon shook her head vehemently. “I plan to curl up with a book and a glass of wine.”

“Sounds delightful,” I said sincerely. “You shouldn’t put yourself through things that make you uncomfortable unless you feel they’re worth it.”

“Like this thesis,” Rhiannon said with a chuckle. “It’s not easy for me to be a TA for Professor Wright.”

“You’re doing an amazing job,” I said, squeezing her arm. “I appreciate you.”

“Thank you.”

“Will I at least see you for dinner?”

“Oh, thanks for reminding me.” Rhiannon gently extracted herself from me. “I wanted to grab dinner to eat in my room to avoid the crowds.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“At lunch at the earliest,” she said with a chuckle.

“Maybe earlier, if Moonbeam wants real food,” I said.

She flipped me a wave and headed off down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Excellent, plenty of time to enact my plan,” I muttered to myself, rubbing my hands together.

“Uh oh, you look terrifying. What’s going on in that big beautiful brain of yours?” Lilia asked from behind me.

“Exactly the person I was hoping to see.” I half-pounced on her. “You’re super grateful to Rhiannon for the work she did with your dragons at the beginning of term, right?”

“Absolutely,” Lilia said without hesitation.

“What do you think about showing your appreciation in the form of candy or a book?”

“Youarebrilliant, aren’t you?” Lilia said admiringly. “I’ll wrangle the girls in the northeast wing, you take the southeast.Brom will tackle the boys in the northwest, and Aiden would probably be willing to help out with the southwest, wouldn’t he?”

I nodded. “It shouldn’t take too long. The more people we tell, the more we can enlist into helping us. I think each person should tell ten people. That should cover the entire student body in an hour. We still have to get ready for the dance.”

Lilia chortled. “Rhi will be so surprised!”

“Just make sure everybody knows to deliver it to her room. She won’t be at the dance.”

Lilia nodded her understanding and latched onto Brom’s arm. “Brom, baby, you’ll help me make Rhiannon’s day, won’t you?”

Brom sighed grumpily, but I knew he was on board. He’d do pretty much anything to make Lilia happy.

I didn’t count Lilia as my first person, and started instead on the hallway on our floor, hoping to be done by the time Rhiannon had retrieved her dinner.

Seeing no sign of her by the time I slipped into my room, I mentally patted myself on the back and settled into the process of getting ready for the dance.

Una had made my dress, a beautiful, flowing, gauzy thing that shimmered between red and pink depending on the lighting. I felt like a fairy in it, minus the wings. She’d helped me choose the makeup to go with it as well, soft pinks and muted creams for the eyes, pink on my cheeks, and bright pink on my lips in the shape of a heart.

I caught a glimpse of my magical black dragon tattoo over my shoulder before I got dressed. Lilia had magicked it onto my back at the beginning of third year, and I’d liked it so much I’d kept it. Aiden had loved it as well, tracing the fire that wrapped around my left side with his tongue many times.

I shivered at the thought of the sex I knew would be coming tonight. Aiden loved it when I dressed up for him.

The dress practically floated around my body, hugging my breasts and hips, but keeping my back on full display in a way that could only be done with magic. The material shifted as I walked, coiling around my torso like a living creature.

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