It was intoxicating.
The next day, the plain girl had snuck away to Madame LeFleur’s, intent on demanding the shopkeeper confess what sort of draft she’d given the girl.
One “For Lease” sign and a handful of innocent questions to the neighboring shopkeepers later, and the girl learned of Madame LeFleur’s mysterious demise.
The parasite had feared the whole excursion would be quite the waste of time.
But the girl had been convinced. She had murdered the Madame. She was sure of it.
So the plain girl had started researching. Pamphlets stolen from the back of Madame LeFleur’s empty shop, books swiped from strange libraries on the outskirts of town.
With Madame LeFleur out of the way, the girl had no one to ask, no one to question.
Of course, with no professional direction, the girl had taken a wrong turn, chosen a faulty route.
She’d been wondering if she was a lychaen the past few weeks—not the faerie type, but the kind made from fanatical humans who dabbled in strange magic.
It had been dull at first, having to listen to the girl’s inner monologue take her down an erroneous path.
But the parasite had paid attention anyway. Just in case.
The girl was bound to happen upon the right information at some point, the key to freeing the parasite from her moonlit shackles, the answer to taking this body as her own. Permanently.
Then she could marry the prince, murder the insufferable king, and become Queen of Dwellen.
It shouldn’t have, but recently her thoughts had lingered more on the marrying the prince part than the becoming queen part.
Ellie Payne needed to get out of the way if that ever was to happen.
CHAPTER 45
ELLIE
I could still feel the warmth of his lips on mine, even when he escorted me to my room after the ball.
We’d danced to three more waltzes, until my feet were raw in my shoes. I would have danced with him more, would have ignored the pain for another fleeting moment as he twirled me around the room, that boyish grin on his face seeping into mine.
But he’d caught sense of my blisters and convinced me I’d danced enough.
And now as we stood at my door, I wanted nothing more than to feel his mouth on mine again.
“Goodnight, Ellie,” he said, bringing my hand to his lips and pressing a warm kiss against it. My face rushed with heat.
“That’s it?” I laughed.
He grinned. “What were you expecting?”
“You tried to seduce me back when you thought I hated you. Now you’re just offering a goodnight and a kiss to my hand?”
“Oh, I won’t be trying to seduce you again. Clearly that didn’t work, so I’m trying out a different method.”
“And what’s that?”
He leaned over me, gently pushing my back up against the door as his face hovered just above mine. “Goodnight, Ellie.”
The door creaked open behind me, and he flashed me a grin before sauntering away.
When I entered my room and shut the door behind me, I wondered how long it would take for the smile to fade from my cheeks.
Neither Imogen nor Blaise was here to help me undress, I realized—though the perfume Blaise had borrowed from Imogen still lingered in the room, and now that I stopped to pay attention, it really was a bit strong. But I was eager to get out of this gown and into some more comfortable sleepwear. I remembered I’d given them the night off without considering how I would get undressed, but I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. After all, I’d never had a lady’s maid back home, and I’d gotten dressed and undressed just fine.
Of course, I hadn’t had a dress as fancy as this one either.
Besides. If I could get out of that suit of armor, I could get out of anything.
It took me quite a bit of stretching, groping, and hopping, but I finally managed to pull my dress over my head. The problem was the cinched waist. It was too small for my ribcage. Much too small.
I hopped around in the dark, trying to wiggle myself out of my trap without ripping the undoubtedly expensive dress.
“Need some help?”
The quiet voice made me jump. “Imogen, you scared me,” I said, trying to regain my breath. “Can you help me get out of this?”
“Imogen?” the sultry voice purred.
My heart turned to ice as I recognized the voice, as her last words to me rang through my head.
You weren’t supposed to wake up.
