Page 75 of Until the End of Ever
I blinked. “What?”
“Your measurements, darling. Bust, waist, hips.”
“Oh!” I blinked. “I mean, no idea. I swear a size S or M, depending on clothes? I mean, why?”
“I’ll dress you for events from now on,” she announced, her declaration accepting no input. “It’s a little bit of a tight timeframe between now and Poseidon’s Day, so I’ll send sketches by next week, Lucian. Get on it right away.”
On that note, she turned the high heels, waving. “Ah, Taura, darling! You wouldn’t believe what I heard?—”
She let the throng of people swallow her as I stared, unsure what had just happened.
“Kore likes you,” Lucian noted, offering me a second glass to replace the one I just drained.
“Yeah, but she can’t dress me!” I hissed. “Have you seen her? She looks like she makes grown men cry for fun.”
“She does. But she also creates designs for the people she dresses—not herself. Whatever she comes up with will suit you,” he assured me. “I see Mother’s arrived. We’d better let her mingle before we tell her you accept her offer.”
Indeed, Cassiopeia Regis and Kaelius Saltzin had made their entrance in the packed hall, and most of the crowd were converging towards her. She spotted us and waved, beaming. I waved back.
“There are boxes to watch the meeting from up there,” Lucian told me, pointing to the first and second floor of the open atrium. “Eventually, Mother and many of the nobles will move. There’ll be more room to breathe.”
I couldn’t say I minded the crowd when almost everyone was so friendly.
Some of the stands on the upper floors were already occupied; I didn’t miss Abrax Hyperion, lording from above with other fancy people who permanently seemed to be sucking on a lemon.
Yes, no place was perfect. But the underside seemed pretty close, sneering gits aside.
31
LUCIAN
We’d arrived fairly early, and it was a good two hours of mindless chatter and friendly mingling until the forum began.
Father presided today, and invited anyone with suggestions, grievances, or information to take the floor. I let others go first, knowing my warning would cause too much of a commotion for others to list their own problems afterwards.
Sessona informed us that the number of orphans and runaway kids was too high.
“My place’s full again—some kids are doubling up. You know I like to give them their own space and dignity.”
“What do you need?” Mother called from her box.
“Fosters would be nice, for now, ma’am. We all know you took one kid this week—and there generally are one or two in your home. If more good families could open up their doors, that’d be helpful. Some of the older kids also need apprenticeships, part-time jobs, or guarantors so they can rent out spaces of their own.”
“One of my companies can take on an apprentice or two,” I offered. “Have them post CVs directly to me.”
“And don’t forget that Night Academy is more than happy to open its doors, and its dorms, to your kids, Sessona,” Ronan added.
“I’m looking for an assistant. Nothing complex, just fetching coffees, handling appointments, taking calls, but I promote from within,” Fredrick Briar said. “So it has room for growth. Send me an organized kid, if you have one.”
Another handful of business owners offered to step up.
“Just like that, you guys hand out apprenticeships to kids you haven’t even met?” Kleos whispered to me.
“I mean, they need to be able to do the job. But yes?”
“That’s wild. I know a bunch of people who graduated from college with me last year and haven’t managed to get a job anywhere.” She shook her head. “It’s sad you have so many kids without families. There aren’t even any orphanages in the vale.”
I chuckled dryly. “Oh, Kleos. More of half of the children at Sessona’s housearefrom the vale.”
