Chapter 54

54

Ella

My plan?

My plan was going to get me killed.

"I thought about sending a raven to warn the prince, but then I wouldn't be able to control his reaction, and I can't risk exposing the resistance."

"So, what do you propose?"

I met her single eye apprehensively. "I disguise myself as one of the immortals and try to go through the main gate. It's a masquerade, so I might not be recognized, but I don't have an invitation or a token to get in, and even if I did, no one is going to buy that I'm a high lady if I show up without a carriage and groomsmen. But I don't have either of those things—which is why I'm here."

The old woman gulped down the final dregs of her beer and leaned forward. "Let's concentrate on the positive. What do you have?"

I glanced back to where Thisbe stood. "I have a horse and a dress."

My mother's dress hadn't ever been a ball gown, but Cara had said she'd fancied it up, so I hoped it was a start.

Siggy motioned encouragingly to me. "The dress is always the hardest part. Let's see it."

I retrieved the bundle Cara had given me from Thisbe's saddlebag and laid it on the table, loosening the ties around it. The cloth fell away, revealing the rich blue of my mother's dress. My eyes widened as I lifted it. A waterfall of blue and silver unfolded before me, and I sucked in a sharp breath. I recognized the original blue satin fabric, but it had otherwise been transformed. Delicate silver embroidery decorated the sweeping bodice and hips, forming a patchwork of flowers and vines. Additional layers of silk had been added to the skirt to make it fuller.

"Wherever did you come by that?" Siggy asked, her voice tinged with wonder.

I stared, astonished. "It was my mother's, but my friend Cara—" I looked up at Siggy. "Maybe she has magic, too."

"An artist, to say the least." Siggy nodded. "Let's see how it looks, though I might suggest scrubbing a bit before you put it on."

I glanced down at myself. My hair was tangled from the ride, I was sweaty, and my clothes were filthy from lying on the dirty cellar floor and mucking the stables. I definitely stank.

She pointed to the back of the cottage. "There's a stream with a deep pool at the edge of the clearing where I like to bathe. Let's go get you cleaned up."

Siggy's stream was little more than meltwater. Each second I scrubbed sent numbing cold shooting through me.

"Gods, that was brutal." I staggered out of the pool and grabbed my towel from the tree. My teeth chattered as I pulled it around me, too cold to even dry off.

"Nothing like a brisk bath to give a woman the power to face the day," Siggy chirped from her spot on a fallen log, where she was busy whittling away at something. "I take one every morning."

Madwoman .

I dried off and shimmied into the silky black chemise the prince had given me, as there was no way I was putting my old one back on. It felt like it would be an insult to Cara's dress.

"You could always just go like that," Siggy mused as we headed back to her porch. "I'm sure no one would stop you."

"Not funny."

She helped me into the dress, pulling the laces a little tighter than necessary. "Need to breathe," I wheezed.

"You'll be fine." She gave another tug, then tidied the last of the folds and fetched a mirror.

My heart stilled as I inspected myself. The delicate lace of the sleeves hung softly below my shoulders, inviting others to gaze at the sweeping expanse of my neckline and chest. The gown hugged me perfectly, emphasizing each curve, while the soft layers of the skirt draped around my legs in a blue cascade. I felt it wasn't just the dress that had been transformed, but me as well. Turning sideways, I admired the way the satin laces of the bodice peeked out from my loose silver curls.

"It's incredible," I said softly, marveling at the way the silver embroidery caught the light.

"You can say that again." Siggy put her hands on her hips. "Now all you need is a mask—a big one."

"Do you know how to make one?" I asked.

"Don't look to me to solve all your problems. You're a whisperer. Just ask the forest for help." She shot me with a loaded look. "The forest will always be there when you need it."

I raised my eyebrows doubtfully.

She shooed me toward the edge of the porch. "Go on. You might as well try."

I grimaced and turned to the woods. A few songbirds flitted down to the lower branches and looked at me almost expectantly.

This was awkward.

"Hey, there, uh…woods in general. I'm going to a ball, and I need a mask—something that will obscure my face but not my mouth or eyes. Can you help me?"

There was a moment of agitated chittering, and then the birds burst into the air and flew away.

I turned back to Siggy. "Okay, maybe we try something else."

A moment later, one of the little redstarts flitted back down and laid a long, supple twig on the porch. Then another arrived, and another. I stepped back as dozens of birds overtook the porch, squabbling and harassing each other. I could barely see what they were doing. More twigs arrived, along with thin vines, sprigs of grass, and flowers in every shade of blue.

The excited chatter rose to deafening levels, and then, with a burst of feathers, the flock disappeared. Where they had been lay a mask woven from the forest itself.

I picked it up in wonder, turning the delicate thing over in my hands. They'd intertwined twigs and vines to create a base, lined it with soft moss, and threaded the stems of flowers throughout, creating a mask that was as full and vibrant as a bouquet.

"It's amazing," I whispered.

Siggy held up the mirror. "Try it on."

I secured the loop of vines around the back of my head, then pulled the mask over my face and stared at my reflection. The various shades of blue and gray complemented my eyes, and the feathers that had been neatly tucked into the sides swept up my cheeks and over my ears. A train of woven leaves draped down the back, concealing my hair.

My heart fluttered with excitement and awe. "I look like a goddess of the forest."

Siggy smiled at me. "You are, my dear."

I stepped back to admire myself at a distance. The tapestry of flowers and moss that shielded my face accentuated the rich blue fabric and silver embroidery of the dress, like the two had been crafted together.

A bittersweet smile broke across my lips. It was the most beautiful outfit I could have ever dreamed of. It also might be the last one I ever wore.

It's one hell of a way to go out.

"I'm really doing this, aren't I?" I whispered.

"You're going to stun them!" Siggy put the mirror down and held up the pair of fangs she'd whittled. "Open wide. It's time for the pièce de résistance."

"The…what?"

She dabbed a little wax on each of the fake fangs, and when I opened my mouth, she wiggled them over my upper incisors. "If they fall out, just squish them back into place."

I gingerly touched them with my tongue. "Are these wood?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

"They're not…are they…"

They'd definitely been part of some creature.

"You'll also need this." She stepped behind me and held up a silver necklace with a sapphire-blue pendant. I lifted my hair, and she secured it around my neck. "This is your ticket into the castle."

A token. I touched the cool gemstone. "Does it have magic?"

"Yes. It'll get you inside." Siggy lifted the soft folds of my gown and clucked at my bare feet. "I almost forgot—and before you say it, no, those riding boots you brought won't work. Maybe if this were a Western, but… no. They just won't do."

Western? Where was she from?

"I have the flats that I wore in the castle in my bag," I said, the new fangs garbling my words slightly.

I adjusted the left one a smidge as Siggy shook her head. "Honey, I'm just an old woman who lives in the woods, and even I know flats are wrong. You need real shoes."

She grabbed the pair of dirty beer glasses from the table and emptied them, then dunked them in the rain barrel. She handed them to me. "Put these on your feet."

I screwed up my face apprehensively. Was she kidding?

"Just do it."

With a shake of my head, I set the glasses on the porch, then wedged my feet into them one by one. "This is ridiculous. I can't possibly walk in these."

Siggy nodded. "Well, it's certainly stretching the limits of how much I should be meddling, but this is an extreme case. A dress is nothing without the proper pair of shoes. I think the Fates will let me get away with this one." She grabbed a fly swatter off the table and pointed it at my feet. "Huzzah!"

My skin tingled as the air stirred, and then a stream of crackling blue light leapt from the swatter and into the pair of glasses. They glowed and grew warm as the glass wavered and molded over my toes. It was almost like the glass was melting, though not as hot. I stared in astonishment as glass flowed into shape around my feet, then pooled beneath my heels, lifting them higher and higher. The blue light faded, and the glass cooled, leaving my feet enclosed in a pair of shimmering heels.

"Fates," I whispered.

The old woman waved her hand to quiet me. "Hush, now, and don't use their name so much. It draws their attention, and this is our little secret."

I nodded without comprehension, still too stunned by my new pair of glass shoes. "They're beautiful," I said, my voice hushed and reverent. I took a step and wobbled. "A little rough to walk in."

"Shoes like those can practically walk themselves," Siggy said, then looked at the sky. "And it's about five, so you've got a little while to practice."

I took a few more steps, trying to balance. "Do you think they'll let me just ride in on Thisbe? What about a carriage or groomsmen?"

Siggy glanced at her garden, then shook her head. "No, that's preposterous. I'm afraid we're just going to have to steal them instead."

"Steal them? From whom?"

She grinned in delight. "From someone who stands no chance of winning the prince's heart."