Page 68 of Cursed
Taking a sip from her glass, Adele holds up Nori’s leggings. “Now, Nori. Leggings have a time and place, either for exercise or loungewear, but definitely not for wandering around the castle. Go pick out a new outfit to wear today. And don’t forget the new underwear, for goodness’ sake!”
Nori smiles and trots back to the bedroom. From her new drawer, she takes out a black, lacy bra and panty set. Next, she heads to the closet and settles on a pair of black, fitted ankle pants with black flats, a white, long-sleeved, fitted knit shirt, and a fuzzy gray cardigan.
When she walks back into the sitting room, the three women applaud. Amara and Breelynn tell her how lovely she looks.
Adele’s face breaks out into a wide grin. “That outfit is great, Nori. You look very chic.” She looks at the other women and raises her glass. “Ladies, I think our work here is done!”
Amara clinks her glass with Adele. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
Breelynn smiles and nods. “We should do fashion shows with all our clients.”
“Definitely!” Amara exclaims.
Nori admires her outfit in a mirror and turns to the three ladies. “I can’t thank you all enough. These clothes are wonderful!”
Adele hugs her tightly. “We are having family dinner tonight to celebrate the fact that Zayne lived. I’ll see you and Ry at Zayne’s later.”
The three women gather their things and their empty clothing racks and file out of the doors. Nori hears them laughing on their way down the hall.
Notquite ten minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. Nori runs to answer it. “Did you forget something?”
She opens the door, and instead of Adele, she sees a Guard standing there. “Oh! I thought you were Princess Drakemoor. Can I help you?”
“Good afternoon, Miss Valcrest. I am Guard Bergeron. Prince Drakemoor asked me to escort you to a late afternoon lunch in the solarium.”
Nori’s heart skips a beat. “Really? That sounds great! And where is the Prince?”
“He said to tell you he is finishing up some work and will meet you there shortly.” He pauses. “If you’ll follow me, please.”
Nori looks around the room for a moment to see if there’s anything she needs. “Sure. Lead the way.”
Nori follows the Guard down Ryland’s stairs and thenanother set of stairs, turning right to walk down a hallway. At some point, she notices she hasn’t been to this part of the castle before.
She’s trying to memorize the route when the Guard says, “If you’ll follow me down these stairs, please. The solarium is right outside the door at the bottom.”
“OK.”
Nori asks Aylin, “What’s a solarium, exactly?”
Aylin replies, “I think it has to do with flowers, like a greenhouse or something.”
Nori is halfway down the stairs when the Guard stops.
Surprised, she says, “Oh! I’m—"
The Guard plunges a needle into her neck and catches Nori as she falls unconscious.
chapter forty-one
Sitting at his large, mahogany desk in his business office, Ryland concentrates on a pile of paperwork. He’s reviewing the Pack's finances and Zayne’s plan for sending out more troops, providing additional security from the Rogues.
He’s so focused on his work that he’s startled when he hears Bade’s voice tinged with concern. “When was the last time you felt Nori’s emotions?”
He thinks about it for a moment. “I guess it’s been a while.” Ryland looks at the clock and sees that it’s late afternoon, approaching dusk. “I must have gotten distracted with work and forgot to pay attention.”
He actively tries to reach for Nori’s emotions and doesn’t feel anything. “Maybe she took a nap after Adele left.”
Bade’s voice sounds nervous and insistent. “Go check on her!”
