Page 5 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Harlow shrugged. She couldn't deny it, but she did think it rather hard that she and her sisters were to be offered up like prizes to the Illuminated. She knew better than to say such a thing to her parents though. The thought that a pairing might be made between Finbar McKay and one of her sisters made her ill.
No. That simply would not do. Her mothers might not understand the danger someone like Finn posed to her sisters, but she did, all too well. Harlow wasn’t going to let any of them be hurt by a self-centered, arrogant prick like him, and if she had to sabotage the entire season to keep him away from her sisters, she would.
ChapterThree
Harlow was saved from needing to respond by her eldest sister’s entrance. Thea Krane was a vision. No one could deny that she took after Aurelia in both looks and intelligence. Tall, statuesque, and graceful, she was the one her mothers should have been coaxing to align with the Illuminated. Perhaps they’d already convinced her.
Harlow was well aware that she’d been left out of family business, as well as Order business, while she reacclimated to sorcière society. After nearly two years living amongst humans, the sorcière were wary of her. It was to be expected, she supposed, but she wished things were different.
She missed being invited to rituals. Seventeen hells, she’d be grateful to be invited to one of the “witch and bitch” coffee dates she used to turn her nose up at. But most of her old friends had stopped speaking to her, and since her magical talent hadn’t emerged yet, it made it even easier to avoid her. She wasn’t sure how to gain people’s trust again; she barely felt like she could trust herself most days. Her lack of magical prowess had a lot to do with that.
Octobre had come and gone, taking her twenty-fifth birthday with it, and still she was stuck doing the equivalent of party tricks while most sorcière her age had manifested their true magical talents in ways that made them special. Selene and Aurelia cautioned her that her time living with humans may have stunted her progress, to be patient, but it made her feel like a failure all the same.
Thea kissed their mothers sweetly, taking off her coat and depositing it in the back office. Perfect Thea. If she weren’t Harlow’s best friend in the world, it would be easy to hate her sister. In addition to being so beautiful she was often mistaken for one of the Illuminated, she was brilliantly talented in the deep magics.
Her artistry had manifested on her twenty-third birthday, the ideal age for a prodigy, and now that she was twenty-seven, she created some of the most beautiful artwork Harlow had ever seen. Paintings, sculptures—her personal works were stunning. Here at the shop, she used her talent to restore the most precious of the ancient books the maters took in.
When Thea returned from the back office she asked after everyone’s plans for the day. When no one responded to her she pulled her dark brown hair back into a low chignon and raised her perfectly groomed eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
Selene poured herself a cup of tea. “We were telling Harlow about the season. She is not thrilled.”
Thea laughed. “Of course she isn’t. That’s our Harlow.” Her sister hugged her close, whispering, “It won’t be so bad, pal. Just come to the events. You don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to.”
Harlow looked into her sister’s luminous brown eyes, nodding. “Fine, fine. I’ll come.”
She wasn’t going to tell Thea that she would go to these events primarily to keep her sisters from being sold off to Finn McKay. She and Thea were close, but they had differing opinions about how to change the Orders’ outdated traditions. Thea thought subtlety and transforming things from within was the best method, and Harlow thought they should burn it all down.
There was no use in arguing; she could give in now or give in later, but Selene wore the look that told Harlow she wouldn’t stop until she agreed to join the antiquated pairing ritual. She sighed deeply, then asked, “When is the first event? I suppose I’ll need to secure an adequate wardrobe if I’m going to participate.”
Aurelia and Selene both looked as though they’d collapse from the relief of not having to convince their second-eldest further, but Thea’s eyes glittered with suspicion. Harlow rolled her eyes and lifted her shoulders when Thea pinched her.
Selene shot them a look that screamed,Behave, before beginning her instructions to Harlow. “The opening ceremony is tomorrow evening at the Grove, as it always is, followed by the garden party at the Statuary this weekend. For the opening ceremony you won’t need anything new, as we’ll dress for ritual. You may wear the pallyra you already have. Is it clean?”
“Of course it is.” The heavy ceremonial robe was always clean, since she was never invited to important rituals anymore. At least she didn’t need to worry about that. Harlow shifted uncomfortably. She knew it was time for the season, of course, but she’d lost track of the exact date it began. Tomorrow felt very soon. Too soon.
Selene nodded, then added, “You don’t have to wear anything elaborate to the Statuary party. It’s a casual event.”
A laugh bubbled in her throat.A casual event.Nothing was casual when the Illuminated and all three of the lower Orders were involved. She wracked her brain. Her penchant for vintage might serve her well, but she needed to call in an expert if she was going to get through this without the gossips tearing her to pieces, and the socials… that would be the worst. All the people sheknewtalking about her return to immortal society. Her stomach soured and she swallowed hard, trying to keep her throat clear of the bile threatening to rise. The season’s events would be covered relentlessly online and in print, and since she and Mark were already a story, she knew she’d be a target for the whole season.
Selene sensed her concern. “I’ll transfer money into your account, darling. Get whatever you need. Perhaps you might ask Enzo to help you.”
Harlow smiled in response to cover the anxiety wringing her stomach into knots. Enzo Weraka ran one of the most prestigious ateliers in Nuva Troi and they’d been the best of friends for most of their lives. Until Mark anyway. They hadn’t talked in a while, not like they used to. Selene deposited Harlow’s phone in her lap as she trailed back up the grand staircase. “Better text him now. I’ll make calls about the money.”
Harlow waited until she heard the door to the residence click shut, two stories above the shop, before turning to Aurelia and Thea, who’d begun shelving new books. “Are the sillies participating in the season too?”
Aurelia frowned. “I’ve asked you not to call your sisters that.”
Thea shook her head, pursing her lips in disapproval. Of course, Thea always had her best manners on, even when it was just their family. Harlow’s eyelashes fluttered in frustration. “Well? Will they?”
Aurelia nodded. “Yes. They are eligible to participate, and all three of them wish to attend the events.”
“Even Larkin?” Harlow could hardly imagine her youngest sister, who was barely twenty, wanting to be paired.
Larkin was a quiet girl, studious and musically inclined, who had never shown an ounce of interest in lovers. Unlike the twins, Indigo and Meline, who had been obsessed with romance from the time they could form words, Larkin had never cared.
Aurelia smiled, her eyes warming at the thought of her youngest. “I think Larkin is hoping to make friends, more than anything else. And the season is a wonderful opportunity for that as well.”
“Sure,” Harlow said, barely concealing the ultra-dry note of sarcasm in her voice as she shot a text to Enzo.The maters have convinced me to join the season.
