Adelie jerked, bending one leg when the garments tilted to the side. My redheaded friend kept them from toppling all over the floor. Barely.
“Hmm.” I hummed and pointed at the racks at the very back of the store. “Do you think there’s anything good back there? We haven’t seen those yet…”
“Oh my God, no! Just no!” Adelie wailed in misery. It was a bit muffled behind the pile, but I could hear her just fine with my vampire hearing. She shuffled to stand directly in front of me, cutting off my access to the racks in the back. She growled, “Those are on sale. You wouldn’t want them anyway.”
I lifted my arm over the top of the clothes pile and bopped her nose lightly with one finger. “I’m just teasing.” I winked. “It appears you still hate shopping as much as you always have.”
Which truly didn’t make a lot of sense. Adelie loved fine clothing.
One would think she would want to pick it out herself.
But no, she enjoyed others doing the shopping for her.
My friend grumbled, “Yes, I still hate it. Can we go now?”
I eyed the yellow and blue bags slung over her forearms. “I guess so. I think I bought enough shoes earlier. But maybe I still need—”
A soft vampire growl emitted from behind the clothes pile.
I quickly bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Okay. Okay. We can go.”
“Thank goodness.” She shuffled back around me, her attention squarely on the checkout area. Adelie moved pretty darn well with a bulky tipping load in her arms. “I mean, really? How many black shirts and black pants do you need?”
I trailed behind her, twirling one of my fingers through her red curls. My hair was jet black and straight, down to my shoulder blades—freshly cut an hour ago. I’d always been envious of her beautiful locks, and that hadn’t changed. I mumbled, “Some are sweaters and such.”
I quickly stopped playing with her hair as she leaned forward, lest I yank her head back.
My clothes tumbled onto the cashier’s table.
Adelie sighed in relief, adjusting my shoe bags down to her gripping fists by her sides. As the cashier worked to ring me up, my friend asked candidly, “With this amount of shopping—aka procrastination—how nervous are you for your meeting with the overlords?”
I ground my teeth together and peered to the side.
No comment from me. The tables had turned.
“Ah.” Her head bobbed in understanding. “So, you’re so nervous you feel like wetting your pants or puking. Got it.”
I rubbed my stomach. The closer we traveled to the castle, the worse the compulsion became. But I was fighting it as hard as I could.
Because my friend was right.
My brows puckered and my honest eyes met hers. “This is everything.”
Adelie held my gaze without flinching. “And you will be fine. You will prosper. You’ve trained for this your whole life.” She repeated her words, her voice soothing my nerves. “You will be fine, Gwen. I have faith you will do whatever it takes to make your dream come true.”
I snorted. “Dammit, I better.”
“Damn right, you better. I’m counting on you to do just that.” A sudden sigh deflated her chest, her brows bunching in irritation. She stared off into nothing as if she were being tortured and interrogated. “Fuck. We still have to go weapon shopping.”
A smile curled my lips. “Hell yes, we do.”
Elex rushed us from the cave. “Kimber, are you sure you don’t need my help? Or, maybe, we should have a drink first to celebrate our discovery?”
I knew what the druid was up to.
A little drink here. A little more there.
Then I might say yes.
I wasn’t that foolish. Not always, anyway.
“I have to do this carefully. This is joy beyond joy, and I have to convey that reverently to the Temple Masters, or they will dismiss me. I cannot go in smelling like dirt and wine.” I insisted on my own schedule to the temple and my announcement.
He winked. “Then let me help you shower.”
My finger sealed his lips. “I haven’t forgotten your kiss that quickly. But this must be done right. There’ll be such joy and celebration, but let me go. For now.”
My friend’s strong muscled arms snaked around my waist. In the next moment, Elex pulled me to him. We touched from head to toe.
“I’ve been afraid to show you what you mean to me,” his honest words whispered against the shell of my ear. Elex slanted his mouth across mine, the kiss soft, deep. Perfect.
Pure fire simmered through my body.
“That…,” he whispered across my lips, “…was to refresh your memory of what waits for you when you’re done with this.”
“I am reminded,” I breathed.
Then he was gone.
My eyelashes fluttered in shock as I opened my eyes. But I caught a glimpse of him—and a perfect backside—as he walked down another street, the right one leading to his house.
How had I never realized Elex harbored those feelings for me? I’d always held back what I really felt for him. At that moment, I was already grateful to the magic in the mountain. It pulled down a wall I didn’t know was there.
Without breaking into a run, which was very, very hard, I managed to get to my own apartment and slam the door. I leaned against the wood and looked around.
I could see the magic everywhere now. Threads of light and colors danced through the air. Reaching out, I ran my finger along one small thread, and it sang for me, a crystal tone that trembled through all the threads nearby.
No one ever described magic as alive.
But it was, my fingers tickling it.
The kaleidoscope of beauty vibrated before me.
Maybe…
Maybe, after the mountain rose, no one had ever seen magic this way. Perhaps the mountain hoarded the magic until the right time.
Or the right person.
I visibly shuddered. That was even more frightening.
I had to talk to the Temple Masters. Immediately.
Tearing through my apartment, the colors of magic faded as though they were trying not to distract me. I yanked my closet doors open and evaluated my collection of clothes.
Gods and stars, I was boring.
Teaching tunic after teaching tunic, probably two weeks’ worth hung there. White, beige, taupe, cream, eggshell, off-white. Oh! I was risky. I even had some variety of pale yellow.
I snorted and kept searching.
Several casual outfits were also there, in intersting shades of grey, black, and charcoal. Two formal dresses, one in black, one in charcoal were tucked in the corner.
I needed more clothes.
At the other end was the outfit I was looking for. A pale blue formal set, with a flowing skirt and modest bodice that sparkled in the light of the room.
This dress I’d worn to every temple function.
It was tradition at the temple to have just one dress. There was never any doubt who you were. Everyone knew what to wear. Everyone was expecting you to show up in that dress each time. It bordered on scandalous if someone dared to show up in something new.
A person wasn’t a member of the temple if they showed off and dressed up. There was always a solemn edge to all of the temple’s festivities.