Page 265 of The Ascended
"What? It's true." Vesper held the fabric against my frame, head tilted in consideration. "Besides, our Thais appreciates honesty. Don't you, darling?"
"More than you know," I replied, allowing myself to be guided to a chair where Novalie immediately began working on my hair.
For the next hour, I surrendered to their hands, letting them transform me piece by piece. The familiar ritual was almost comforting—one last remnant of normalcy before everything changed forever.
"You seem different today," Lyralei commented as she fastened a delicate silver chain around my neck. "Lighter somehow."
"Do I?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.
Her eyes studied me. "Yes. What have you done?"
I remained silent, but I could feel the flush climbing up my cheeks.
"Is that a blush, I spy?" Novalie crowed. "Our little contestant has secrets."
"Everyone has secrets," Vesper said with a smirk. "Some are just more delicious than others."
I forced my face into one of neutrality. This relationship between Xül and I needed to remain unknown for now, and I couldn’t have my own godsdamned face betraying me.
"Oh, we didn’t mean to offend you, dear," Novalie chided, tapping my shoulder. "You're at the finish line. Save the brooding for your first century."
"She's right," Vesper agreed, finally settling on a fabric. "Everyone needs at least a few decades of bad decisions and regrets before they find their footing. It's practically a divine tradition."
His words made me smile, thinking of the future that might await me—await us. A century with Xül. A thousand years. Forever. A world where I got to live and Olinthar got to die.
The gown they finally selected was neither dark like Draknavor nor blindingly bright like Sundralis—instead, it captured the in-between moment of dusk, when the first stars appear but daylight hasn't fully faded.
"Perfect," Lyralei declared, stepping back to admire their work. "A goddess in truth, even before the ceremony."
Novalie clapped her hands in delight.
Eventually, they began packing away their supplies, giving metheir final goodbyes. Novalie hugged me tightly, making me promise to visit the Asteria often. Vesper kissed both my cheeks.
Soon, only Lyralei remained, studying me with that ancient, knowing gaze that seemed to see straight through to my soul.
"You warned me," I said quietly once we were alone. "About the drink at the Cascades. Thank you."
Lyralei came closer, keeping her voice low. "Before I was a stylist, I worked in the dreamweep distillery." Her expression darkened. "I'm very familiar with it and its properties, but mostly the smell." Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "I hate that smell. It clings to everything—clothes, hair, skin. I would recognize it anywhere."
"Dreamweep?" I asked, the word unfamiliar on my tongue.
"That's what was in the drink," she explained, her eyes never leaving mine. "What was in all of the contestants' drinks. A mild sedative but with hallucinogenic properties. It allows dreams to live out before your eyes." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "But the cup given to you just so happened to have a dose that would have completely impaired you."
"I would have burned to death." This was yet another attempt on my life—more subtle, but no less deadly.
I thought back to when Kavik tried to kill me in the forest, his hands around my throat, his words echoing through my ears.
"Someone has it out for you, Thais," Lyralei said, her eyes serious. "Someone who doesn't want you to reach ascension."
"Do you know who?" I asked, though I already had my suspicions.
"It would have had to have been someone in the Cascades that day. And the list of people there was limited." She shook her head, silver hair catching the light. "But no, I don't know who did it."
Lyralei pulled me into a hug, surprisingly strong for her ethereal frame. "Be careful," she whispered against my hair. "The closer you get to ascension, the more dangerous things become. Not everyone wants to see new gods rise."
As she pulled away, she pressed something cool into my palm—a small vial filled with silvery, translucent liquid.
"For dreamless sleep, if you need it after," she explained, closing my fingers around it. "Ascension changes you. Sometimes the dreams that follow are... difficult."
