I blinked several times, all words having escaped me.
He smiled as he moved beside me. “You look beautiful,” he said. His husky voice in my ear made me shiver.
“And what about me?” Maggie called from the open bathroom door. She waltzed toward us and did a little spin. Her dress was identical to the one I wore.
“You look so pretty, Maggie.” I was being sincere, but the sight of Maggie in the same dress brought the logistics of our plan back to the forefront of my mind. We knew what we needed to do—find the Hetaeria and steal the Grimoire—but the Scavenger had my scent, and if he caught wind of it, our whole mission might be over even before it had a chance to begin. So we’d come up with a plan. Maggie called it “Operation Mystique”—fitting since the inspiration came from the blue-skinned shape-shifter from the X-men comics—and it involved confusing my scent with someone else’s. A decoy. A fake Lainey.
Maggie had been more than eager to volunteer for the job, despite my objections. Options were limited, and I knew that. But knowingly putting my best friend in danger while I searched for the Hetaeria made my stomach pitch and roll.
“Stop it, Styles,” Maggie said, noticing my frown. “I volunteered, remember.”
“I know, but I don’t like it.” I looked to Serena. “Are we sure there’s not another option?”
“Unfortunately not,” Serena said, her face mirroring the worry I knew was written across mine. “The Scavenger will be present tonight. If we’re to stay hidden as long as possible, we need to confuse his sense of smell. It will be harder to track two of you.”
“I just can’t stomach the idea of using my best friend as a decoy.” I turned to Maggie. “You could get hurt.”
Maggie rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. “Batman and Robin, remember?”
“It only has to work long enough for us to find the Hetaeria,” Ty said, reaching over to still my trembling hands.
With his reminder and Maggie’s determined face, I knew there was no way I would win that argument. “Fine,” I grumbled. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Serena nodded. “Join hands, please.”
Maggie grinned excitedly and grabbed my hands.
“Gareth would’ve been better at this,” Serena said, pulling a small vial from her purse, “but the Sage I bought this from promised me it was genuine, and Sages are usually trustworthy.”
“Usually?”
She grimaced at me. “Usually.”
Sprinkling the contents into her hands, she walked around us murmuring under her breath. I did not understand what she was saying but recognized that she must be speaking in some sort of Fae tongue. As she walked faster, she raised her hands, and Maggie’s countenance began to shimmer. Her features began to distort and change: her thick curls began to grow and straighten, and her lovely, rich brown skin lightened, turning fair beige. Her tall frame shrank a few inches. It was really strange to watch, so eventually I closed my eyes, still feeling uneasy about the whole thing.
I felt the hum of magic around us, felt it vibrate within me. When it faded, I heard a murmur of approval from Ty. “It’s done,” Serena said.
When I opened my eyes, my own face was staring back at me.
“Well?” The face might have been my own, but the voice still belonged to Maggie.
“The glamour worked.” Serena passed her a handheld mirror. “It won’t last for more than a few hours, but it should buy us the time we need.”
“This is so cool.” Maggie was gingerly prodding her new face with her fingertips.
Ty checked the clock on the wall. “We should go.”
I sucked in a deep breath. There was no turning back now.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
There was a slight breeze coming off the Savannah River, and the low-hanging Spanish moss swayed back and forth like a flag. It wasn’t cold, but I was shivering just the same. The planation home in the distance looked like something out of Gone with the Wind, with its wraparound porch and tall, wide columns. The place was illuminated with the golden hue of candlelight, and the air around the house seemed to twinkle like fireflies. It was chilling how something so picturesque could cloak such evil. It reminded me of Lily of the Valley—lovely, yet deadly to all who came near.
I clutched Ty’s arm and tried to focus on keeping myself upright in my heels, the brick walkway an adequate distraction from the dread that threatened to choke me.
The sidewalks leading up to the main entrance and the lush front lawn were cluttered with people in formal wear. Laughter filled the air, and I reached up to make sure my mask was still in place.
There was every variety of dress and fabric, all in varying colors with matching masks. Small pockets of guests were laughing and mingling among themselves, but the majority of the line waiting to enter was eerily somber. It reminded me of a viewing at a funeral.
At the door, several men in tuxedos stood guarding the entrance. They were checking each guest’s name against the master list of guests.
“Warlocks,” Ty whispered in my ear. “Training with the Master.”
Our first obstacle.
I ground my teeth, feeling my nerves crackle under my skin.
When it was our turn at the door, Serena and Maggie sidled up to the two men not holding the list and began inquiring about the plantation house, the Gathering, anything to keep them occupied. I pushed my shoulders back and bolstered my courage. “The Lady Seraphine, her brother, Maxwell, and their guests,” I said grandly, with a lilting accentuation on my words. I hoped the fake names sounded less false to the doorkeeper than they did to me. Please let this work.
The warlock stared at me with narrowed eyes for a few seconds but then bent to check his list. “You’re not on the list,” he said curtly, turning his head to the other men.
“Could you please check again?” I asked quickly. I needed to keep his attention on me. I batted my eyelashes and placed a hand on the warlock’s forearm. “I would be so grateful.” I smiled warmly.
The man huffed and bent to check again. Ty took a slight step forward, angling his back, shielding the man from the view of the other warlocks and the other guests awaiting entrance. He spoke softly, reading off a piece of paper Serena had written out for him, and when the man looked up from the list, I blew a bit of shimmering dust into his face.
“Your name’s not—” The man’s face grew comically blank before returning to his normal scowl. “Your name’s here. Go on in.”
I wanted to whoop in excitement, but I smiled demurely and thanked him. He moved to let us pass through.
I noticed Ty looking at me. “What?” I asked him as we stepped through the doors.
He was grinning at me, his smile sitting crookedly on his lips. “I would be so grateful,” he intoned, doing a perfect imitation of my horrible accent. Then he batted his eyelashes, almost making me snort.
I smacked him in the chest. “I never claimed to be any good at flirting.”