The Heir of Night

17

Theia didn't recognize herself. It was her, but never a version she had seen before. The female in the mirror was foreign, a new land she had yet to discover. A month ago, when she had last looked in this mirror, she was gangly and broken. She was a form of a creature that was wild and starved. Now, there was a true female in the mirror. Perhaps it was the dress, or the way her body had begun to heal.

Her hair was still wet on her shoulders, pushed behind her rounded ears, but her skin seemed soft, plushy, lively. The last she had seen of her body, it was skin stretched too thin over bone, a stomach so swollen with a meal that she looked ready to birth a child. Now, her skin was thick and clear, the dress carving out rounded features of her torso and bottom that she had never had. It wasn't near the curves the females in training had, but it was more than Theia had ever known.

The dress added to the experience. It was a silken fabric dyed a deep green, one Theia found familiar from her life in the forest. A golden thread lined the boning of the bodice and the neckline that lifted her breasts. That same thread went down the sleeves and the skirt, not as poofy as Theia expected a ballgown to be, but still several layers of fabric.

Even with her clean and smooth skin, or her freshly washed hair, Theia still did not feel like she was enough to fit this dress. Not that the gown didn't fit her body, it fit better than any clothing she had ever worn, but she didn't feel like she was the right person to wear it. Something about the sight in the mirror made her eyes sting, so Theia looked away and ruffled her hair with a towel.

It was still damp, but Nyx was now outside of the bathing chamber calling for her to hurry. Apparently the Winter Solstice festivities started in early afternoon in the secret City- Velaris. Theia pulled the door open, a glare settled on the male. Nyx was dressed far more proper than she had ever seen him. He often wore finely made clothes, but this was something else.

He was in trousers that were made of a midnight black fabric, silver threading throughout. The jacket over his black buttoned shirt was the same fabric, the silver threading making complex designs throughout the torso and sleeves. His black hair, that Theia often found messy even with its clean cut, was slicked back in a way that reminded her of the High Lord. Nyx had even trimmed the stubble along his jaw and lip, leaving it a ghost of a beard.

His blue eyes trailed over Theia. Her skin pricked with goosebumps under his gaze and the urge to cross her arms grew heavier with each twitch of his lashes. "Where are your shoes?"

Theia felt her own eye twitch at that question. She glanced down, surely seeing her bare toes peeking out from the gown. "I don't own shoes fitting for a dress like this. I only have my boots," she murmured.

"Fine, then. Go put on some socks and your boots and then we will go."

Theia had the urge to mock his tone but she turned and went into her mother's bedroom for socks. Maia was leaning against the headboard, eyes closed as she rested in a sitting position. Something stung Theia's nose when she looked at her. She turned her eyes away and fumbled through the drawer in the wardrobe for socks. Of course, the High Lady supplied Theia with white- bleached wool socks with lace trim on the shins. She pulled them on and left the room without another word.

Nyx was leaned against the back of the couch as he waited for her, his arms and ankles crossed. A string of curses ran through Theia's mind as she grabbed her dirty boots and tugged them on, lacing them slow enough that Nyx gave an impatient sigh. Theia didn't rise from her crouched position until his perfectly polished shoe kicked her thigh, nearly sending her toppling over. Theia glared at him as she stood. Nyx held out a hand. She didn't take it. He muttered a curse before gripping her arm.

Theia had only ever winnowed twice before, and the sensation was nauseating. She felt like they were jumping through darkness; caught in a wind storm in an abyss. Her stomach settled when she felt solid ground beneath her boots and Nyx's hand dropping from her arm. She blinked, focusing on the breath-taking home before them. Her throat felt tight, her stomach twisting in anxiety and anticipation.