Chapter 5 : The Ivory Blade

*Ember*

The rest of the week passed without any sign of the hooded stranger. There were no more roses, no parcels of food, no chocolates.

I was still afraid of what would happen if Lukas came for me, but I was also angry. Maybe the hooded stranger really had been Lukas or one of those Alphas from the party. After all, it seemed like a cruel trick to play–shower me with food and flowers, toy with my heart, and give me a little glow of hope, only to disappear into the shadows without a trace.

Luckily, one of the kinder maids had noticed the shift in my mood and had taken pity on me. The night before, she had smuggled me a book from the library. I didn’t get to read often, as my father had forbidden me from entering the library. Even so, I snuck into the room often, pilfering books and returning them before they were missed. Once I had a tome, I would tuck it beneath my mattress until I was done with it. If the maids had ever found my secret stash, they had never mentioned it to me, or, more importantly, the Alpha King.

On the afternoon of the party that would mark Lukas’ return to the castle, I was curled up on my bed, reading, in a meager attempt to soothe my nerves. The book the maid had brought me was an adventure novel. In it, the heroine was a Luna who had been separated from her Alpha by war. I was just getting to the good part, where the Luna was fighting her way behind enemy lines to get to her Alpha, when the door to my room flew open.

“Ember!” my father’s voice bellowed from the threshold.

Frantically, I stuffed the book under the mattress and stood up, hoping that he hadn’t noticed what I had been doing.

“Why aren’t you getting ready? Lukas and the Grims arrive within the hour,” the Alpha King snarled, his eyes raking over me. I was wearing only my silk robe, and I shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze. The only good thing was that he hadn’t noticed that I had been reading.

“Never mind,” he snapped. “Maids, make this fucking waste of space presentable. I don’t want Lukas changing his mind when he gets a look at her.”

At his command, a maid bustled in carrying a basket of supplies for my hair. A second maid followed with a shred of sheer silk fabric in her arms. I shuddered to think that I would have to wear that to the party. There were no shoes with the dress, of course. I had never been allowed to wear shoes before and was made to keep my feet bare at all times.

After making sure that the maids had entered, my father turned on me and grabbed my hair hard, pulling my head back at a sharp angle.

“You’re going to behave yourself tonight, you miserable whore,” he sneered, his face inches from my own. “Obey me and you’ll leave with Lukas in the morning. Embarrass me, and you won’t live to see the dawn. This is your last chance. Do you understand?”

My eyes watered from the pain, but I managed to nod my head. He gave my hair one last tug before releasing me.

“She’s all yours now,” my father said dismissively to the maids. He turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Come on now, dear,” the older maid said kindly. She guided me to sit at the vanity and placed the basket of supplies down in front of me.

“Can’t I wear my hair down tonight?” I asked meekly as she started to braid my tresses.

The maid shook her head. “I’m sorry, dear. The Alpha King ordered me to put it up.”

It took her a while to style my hair into an intricately braided bun. As soon as she was done, she turned me in my chair and applied kohl around my eyes. Luckily the bruises on my face had faded enough that the powder she used next covered them almost completely.

After adding a touch of color to my lips, she called out to the other maid, “Time for the dress!”

They helped me into it, tucking the fabric around me to try to cover as much of my skin as they could. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much silk there to begin with, and I felt practically naked as they herded me towards the door. I was sickened to think that Lukas would see me like this.

Just as we got to the door, a third maid that I had never seen before rushed in. “Wait!” she said, stopping us in our tracks.

“What is it?” the older maid asked with a frown.

“The Alpha King sent me. He said that he gave you the wrong dress earlier. She’s to wear this one.” The maid held out a pile of silver fabric to me.

I took it, confused. Even folded, I could tell this dress was a lot longer than the one I was currently wearing. The silk was thicker too, not sheer, and looked like pooled moonlight in my hands.

“Are you sure?” I asked, thinking that this must be some sort of a trick.

“Yes, the Alpha King was very clear,” the maid confirmed. Before I could question her any further, she slipped out of the door and disappeared down the hall.

“How odd,” the older maid mused, shaking her head. “She must be new, I didn’t even recognize her.” She shrugged, and then smiled at me. “Let’s get you changed. We wouldn’t want you to be late to the party.”

I offered her a watery smile that didn’t quite meet my eyes. I appreciated how kind she was being, but there were a thousand things I would have rather done than go meet Lukas and his pack in the hall below.

The maids changed me swiftly and then promptly took their leave, taking the old dress and their basket of supplies with them.

Nervously, I paced the room. The older maid said that a guard would come to fetch me when it was time for the party, but I hadn’t heard Lukas’ pack approach the castle yet. I knew it was foolish to allow myself to hope that the Alpha had decided he didn’t want me after all, but I let myself wonder about the possibility. What would happen to me if he didn’t come? Would the hooded stranger save me? If he could do so, why hadn’t he already?

With a sigh, I went to stand by the closed window. The sky outside was growing dark, and I could see the dim flicker of torches in the distance from what must be the Grims approaching. Could that mean that the hooded stranger was nearby. Was he one of them?

“Where is he?” I muttered under my breath, scanning the rooftops of the castle. But there was no movement, no sign of my savior. After a moment, I tipped my forehead against the cool glass of the windowpane and whispered, “He isn’t coming.”

Blinking back tears, I straightened up and began to pace again. The wait was dreadful, especially as I began to hear the distant sounds of the Grims approaching from the north.

In an attempt to reassure myself, I made my way to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. A shocked gasp escaped my throat as I stared, wide-eyed, at my reflection.

Who was this girl looking back at me? I had become used to the fancy hairstyles and the kohl around my eyes, but it was the dress that shocked me now.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured, smoothing the sleek fabric down my thighs. The garment was unadorned silver, the color of the full moon. The silk pooled around my body in all the right places, accentuating my breasts and hips without making me look indecent. The hem fell all the way to the floor, and a high slit in the side allowed me to move my long legs freely.

“I’m beautiful,” I realized with a start.

It was only then that I realized that the dress was not entirely plain. Embroidered into the silk on one of the delicate straps was a single rose.

Hope surged through me like wildfire. I knew at once that the hooded stranger had sent me the dress. Had the maid been in on it? I had never seen her before, and the older maid hadn’t recognized her either. Was it possible that she was helping the stranger, helping me?

My heart pounded a wild tattoo against my ribs as my mind shuffled through the possibilities. Was he coming for me? Would he be at the party?

A noise from my room jolted me from my thoughts. I listened intently, waiting for another sound, but there was nothing. Shaking my head and chastising myself for being so jumpy, I afforded myself one last glance in the mirror before I walked out into my room.

The sight of the open window stopped me in my tracks.

I scanned the room, expecting to see the hooded form of my savior, but there was nobody there. Instead, my eyes landed on the vanity. A blood red rose now sat on the table. Beside it, glowing coolly in the candlelight, was a thin knife with an ornate ivory handle.

My breath stuck in my chest. I barely had time to consider the implications of this latest gift when a knock at the door sent me into motion.

“One moment,” I squeaked, panicking.

Without stopping to think, I lunged forward and grabbed the knife. The blade was small, but the silk of my dress was so smooth that its outline would be instantly noticeable if I tried to slip it into the garment.

Instead, I silently thanked the Moon Goddess that my father had ordered the maids to put my hair up in such an intricate bun. Careful not to stick myself, I slid the blade of the knife down into my hair, leaving only the hilt visible. A quick glance in the vanity mirror showed that it looked like I had simply adorned the bun with a fancy ornament. Nobody would ever suspect that there was a blade on the other side of the ivory handle.

Satisfied that it didn’t look out of place, I hurried to the door and out into the hallway, where a guard was waiting impatiently. He took my arm and marched me away from my chamber, into the depths of the castle.

As we drew nearer to the hall and the sound of the party grew louder, equal parts anticipation and dread coiled heavily in the pit of my stomach. Finally, we entered the antechamber, where the guard left me alone with my thoughts.

“This is it,” I told myself. The hooded stranger would be here. He would save me. After tonight, I would never have to worry about Lukas or my father ever again.

Holding my head up high, I pushed the door to the hall open and stepped inside to meet my fate.