Page 136 of Night's Fall
“See that you are,” she said, and then she dropped into a curtsy. “Yourroyal highness.”
“Always good to see you,MadamGarwah,” he said.Thenhe turned his attention toGermaine. “Haveyou lost yourPalm?OrAllain’ssequence?”
“You weren’t very happy with me the last timeIwas here,” she pointed out. “Andthis needs to be done.”
“I didn’t ban you from my penthouse,Maine.”
“Good to know,” she said as she put a box on the kitchen bar and slid it down to us.
Aleksei threw out a hand and stopped it from crashing into his breakfast plate.
I gasped in delight.
It was anUltra-Paint5000, the enchanted moonstone of cosme-masks.
It had twenty more settings than the closest top model.Ithad a scanner so you could scan your outfit, and it would take that into account when it manifested your look.Itadministered the premier serums, moisturizers, primers and dews, had advanced cleansing that gave it spa-visor functionality, and its cost was astronomical (but it came with its first year of reloading free, thoughI’dheard the yearly subscription after that was super steep).
I nearly knocked the coffee cup out ofAleksei’shand whenIreached beyond him to snatch it up.
AndIheld it to my chest like the beloved treasure it was.
“Is this for me?”Ibreathed.
“Of course,”Germainereplied. “Nowwe need to talk wardrobe.”
My delight turned to horror as she touched a button on a remote in her hand, and an outfitMadamGarwahwould wear cycled out from the others on the rack.
I fought retching.
I was now very worried that this visit would not help me to face what was to come that day at all.
“I’ll just go get some work done,”Aleksei, ever the male, murmured, sliding off his stool to escape what was to come next.
Instead of grabbing his arm and begging verbally,Igave himdon’t leave me alone with themeyes.
He bent, kissed the top of my head, straightened, turned toGermaineand reminded her, “Mymate knows clothes.”
“AndIknow that sixty-seven percent of the population ofNight’sFallvalue their royal family due to nostalgia, historical protections, the inherent wealth, status and glamor of it all, and you remind them of esteemed traditions,”Germaineretorted. “Andyou can’t have traditions without being traditional.”
I was not traditional.
I had not a traditional bone in my body.
I kept begging my mate with my eyes.
He winked at me, and although that was hot, he followed it by sauntering away with his coffee mug.
I watched him go, and thenIwatchedNovascurrying after him like a fluffy badger.
Traitor!
“No!”MadamGarwahbarked, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand. “Next!”
“This green is—”Germainebegan.
“Putrescent,”MadamGarwahfinished. “Isaid next.”
Germaine cycled to the next.
