Page 62 of The Star's Sword

With all of them around me, it almost felt like I could get through this.

I smiled, at having so many people to support me.

With such good friends, surely we could make a breakthrough tonight with the vampires. We had to.

22

Mor helped me get ready, using illusions to give me a proper outfit, insisting she was a better fashion expert than Samael or Zadis.

Currently she had me in a pink, tight dress that left nothing to the imagination and had a long slit up the side and a train that dragged on the floor. It was the color of a sunset, milky pink fading into darker pink.

It was beautiful, but all of this felt a little pointless.

She made sparkling heels covered in some kind of iridescent crystals appear, and I glared at them before stepping in.

“Come on, Cleo,” she said. “Vasara wears dresses like this. You need to show some more skin. It’s not that hard compared to being dismembered.”

“Sure,” I grumbled, shoving my feet into the heels and finding them oddly comfortable. “I think I’d rather be dismembered.”

“I know it’s hard,” Zadis said, putting a hand on my shoulder. He looked gorgeous in sparkling, deep-blue fae formal wear, which he’d described for Sam to make for him. It looked a bit like a suit made of velvet with longer cuffs and a high collar, a ruffled cravat in front, tight breeches, and dark blue leather boots. His emerald green eyes were extra vibrant and his dark hair falling around his face in shiny waves looked immaculate.

Truly, he was a dizzyingly gorgeous man.

“If anyone can do this, you can, Cleo. I’ve seen you fight your way through pain, through heartache, and through literal hell.” Zadis squeezed my shoulder and I felt warmth flood me. “If anyone can now conquer diplomacy, it’s you.”

Samael was wearing a loose black dress shirt tucked into black breeches and then into boots. He wore a black chain over his semi-open collar that revealed part of his chest. He looked both dressed up and casual, but a little sexier than normal.

My jaw dropped just staring at him, with that unbelievably beautiful, angelic face and those burning golden eyes. His wings were out but folded at his sides.

“You look gorgeous,” I said.

“I suggested it,” Os said. He and Griffin were dressed in simple formal wear and seated on a couch to watch us. “Samael is an incubus, so showing a bit of skin doesn’t hurt.”

I glanced at the part of his shirt where his pecs were showing. Those were my pecs.

But at this point, we had to try whatever we could. If my boobs had to be on display, practically being pushed out of this ridiculous dress, then I supposed Samael could do his part.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked Mor, who was wearing a gray suit.

“Griffin, Os and I will do perimeter work, mingling around the edges of the ballroom or the garden and trying to get a beat on what people think. You will go with Samael and Zadis, and try and make as many allies as possible, using them as your guards.” She pressed her lips together. “Just don’t let Vasara close.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said.

“I’m going to portal us there, so we don’t have to walk through all the ruins,” Mor said.

“What are we going to do if we can’t convince them?” I asked. “Give up?”

“Let’s try our best first,” Mor said, creating a swirling void portal and motioning us toward it.

“What about Simon and Cayne?” I asked.

“They’ll join later,” Sam said. “After all, Cayne is probably going to be spying, since he can’t stand balls, and Simon will probably be trying to keep Vasara off our backs.”

“I’ll go in first,” Os said. His suit was purple like his eyes and hair. He was followed by Griffin, in a royal-blue suit.

Zadis went next, and then Samael took my hand and led me forward. “I’ll follow you instantly,” he said, helping me into the swirling void.

I was instantly sucked forward, feeling like I was falling, though I stayed upright now that I was used to this, and just let the void swirl around me, taking me where I needed to go.

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