Page 59 of Moonmarked

“It’sNilah—just Nilah,” I insisted, but somehow, I found myself in front of the tub, and Pippa was behind me, pulling the jacket from my shoulders, and the other—Poppy—was untying the laces of my boots.

What the hell is happening…

Meanwhile, Pera was already out the door, but the golden faucet at the other end of the tub turned itself on, and water poured from it, a heavy flow.

“Really, I can do that myself,” I tried to insist, but the women didn’t even bother to answer me.

That’s how I found myself completely naked a minute in, the tub half filled, the water steaming, and the women held me by the arms like I was this fragile little thing until I stepped inside.

Definitely one of the strangest days of my life.

nineteen

The fae sisters were relentless.

They scrubbed my skin and washed my hair, massaged my scalp so thoroughly, so well, that I fell asleep for a minute or two. The scents of the shampoos that they pulled out from these cabinets hidden in the decorations of the wall were heavenly—peachy and floral and perfect.

Then, while they let me use the bathroom that was behind yet another door that was seamlessly hidden in the wall of the bathroom hall, they’d filled up the tub with what looked likemilk, and they demanded I climb in there.

I did.

Whateverlotus milkwas, it must have poured straight out of heaven because it felt like I was lying on clouds.

The women didn’t let me come out until the sun began to set behind the horizon, and the sky became a gorgeous mix of orange and purple right there in front of my eyes.

It might have been one of the most serene moments of my entire life to be lying in a bathtub full of milk, to be looking at that sky, to be at peace.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

They took me out of the tub and dried me, wouldn’t even hear it when I said I could dry myself. Then I was back in the bedroom and they’d laid out two dresses for me, one white and golden, the other a pale blue.

They let me choose that, at least, and I went with the blue one as it reminded me a bit of the dress Miriam the noxin had given me. The white one was too muchqueen’s vibes,and I wasn’t entirely sure why I wanted to rebel against the idea already, but I did.

The women didn’t argue about that. Instead, they argued about putting my panties on—a brand new pair made of cotton and peach-colored lace, and the bra to match which was exactly my size. How in the world they had gotten everything for me in the time it had taken them to bathe me was not something I knew, but they put everything on me themselves, the dress, and the stockings that went up to my thighs, and the gorgeous ballerinas with silk ties that Pera tied in perfect bows right over my ankle.

Then, Pippa took over, sat me in front of the vanity table in the right of the room, and ran her fingers down my wet hair. That’s all she did—ran her fingers. I felt the heat as her hands began to glow, and then my hair was dry a minute later.

Not only dry, but smooth and voluminous and so perfect it didn’t look like my hair at all.

When they pulled open the wide drawer of the vanity table,I was honestly speechless.

It wasn’t makeup the way I knew it — there were no tubes, no powders caked in metal pans. Instead, glass vials shimmered with what could have beenlightinside them, tiny seed pots that opened all by themselves to revealshimmery dust in different colors, and balms thatglowedinside carved pieces of stone.

Everything smelled faintly of wildflowers somehow. Like I was standing on a field outside.

“Would you like me to put some on, Miss Nilah?” asked Poppy, and I’d already accepted that no amount of me asking them to drop themisswas going to actually work so I no longer bothered.

I just said, “Yep. Yep. Puteverythingon me.” And I thought,Thank God I’m a girl.

They had shimmer powder made fromcrushed starlight crystals—yes, that is what the women said. They had tints, too—moon watertint they called them because the colors were distilled from moonlit flower petals that were soaked in river water for a day and a half. They were stored in these thin glass vials that were sealed with silk cords—and that wasn’t all.

What I knew as a mascara, they calledthornlash inkbecause it was made of rare midnight thorns, and then eyeshadows were actuallyveil shadowsbecause they only appeared when the wearer blinked because they had illusion magic infused in them. The dew glow balm was for cheeks and anywhere else you wanted awetlook, because it was made from the morning dew of the fae gardens below the gazebo that extended from the room, they said.

Lip glosses made out of fae nectar, and color-shifting powders—it was all right there in the drawer, and when they put it on my face, the reflection in the heart-shaped mirror attached to the vanity table transformed in front of my eyes.

I no longer looked like me—I looked almost like a fae. Almost like a fuckingillusion.Not real.

Of course, I said nothing when the chambermaidscurtsied in front of me and then left with the promise to be back whenever I needed it. But the moment they closed the door, I reached for the dry wipes on the vanity table and took off most of the shimmer and the highlights they’d put on me.

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