Chapter 193 — Who Sent This?

Chapter 193: Chapter 193 — Who Sent This?

~ Raven ~

"Who the hell sent this?"

Raven stood beside her bed with both hands on her hips, staring at the dress hanging from the wardrobe as though enough suspicion might eventually force it to answer.

It did not.

Thalia, unfortunately, had been giggling for almost a full minute.

Raven turned toward her. "You’re enjoying this far too much."

"I’m enjoying the mystery." Thalia leaned forward from where she sat on the edge of her bed, eyes bright as she looked between Raven and the dress. "Maybe Prymont finally got tired of waiting for an answer and decided bribery was the next logical step."

Raven’s gaze returned to the gown because, annoyingly, the thought had already occurred to her.

There had been no name attached to the package, only hers written neatly across the outside before it was delivered to Hale that morning.

Whoever had chosen the dress had certainly not done so cheaply. The fabric was soft beneath Raven’s fingers, the design elegant without looking ridiculous, and even without trying it on she could tell somebody had paid enough attention to her colouring to know exactly what would suit her.

"I don’t think it was Dante."

Thalia’s smile only widened. "Nikolai?"

Raven frowned.

"Rowan?"

"That would be even stranger."

Thalia waited a beat before adding, "Cassian?"

Raven’s fingers stopped against the fabric.

Only for a moment, but long enough for Thalia to notice.

Cassian had been gone long enough that some absurd part of Raven could almost imagine him deciding a dress was somehow an acceptable substitute for explaining where the hell he had disappeared to. The idea barely survived another second before she dismissed it.

It did not feel like him.

Remembering that he was still absent only irritated her.

"No."

Thalia continued watching her with far too much interest, but before she could make anything of Raven’s reaction, Brielle stepped closer to inspect the gown.

"Whoever sent it has taste."

Tessa nodded from beside the table. "And apparently better planning skills than Raven."

Raven turned toward her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Tessa’s gaze dropped meaningfully toward the dress.

It took Raven several seconds to understand.

Then she did.

"Oh."

Brielle stared at her. "You forgot you needed a gown."

"I did not forget."

"You own one?"

Raven opened her mouth, only for absolutely nothing useful to appear.

Thalia burst out laughing.

Raven glared at all three of them because somehow, between the Court, Isolde, the Dreamwalker, learning how to dance and trying very hard not to think about Dante’s invitation, she had genuinely failed to consider the extremely obvious problem of what she was supposed to wear.

She knew exactly what women wore to noble balls. She had spent years watching them arrive in gowns worth more than most servants earned in months, had carried drinks past glittering skirts and cleaned halls long after their owners had gone home.

She had simply never needed one herself.

Brielle sighed. "I had three you could have tried."

"I have two," Tessa added.

Raven gestured toward the anonymous dress. "Then clearly the problem solved itself."

"That is not planning."

"It worked."

Thalia was already getting to her feet. She pushed the dress toward Raven with enough enthusiasm to make Raven suspicious.

"Put it on."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see it."

"You’ll see it tonight."

Thalia looked genuinely offended. "I might die before tonight."

Raven stared at her.

Thalia smiled sweetly.

Twenty minutes later, Raven regretted giving in.

"Oh my Goddess."

"Thalia."

"You look—"

"Don’t."

"—so fucking pretty."

Raven closed her eyes while Thalia circled her for what felt like the third time, strangely determined to inspect the dress from every possible angle.

Tessa was considerably more restrained, although the smile she was failing to hide made her opinion obvious enough. Brielle stood near the wardrobe with her arms folded, examining the fit with the seriousness of someone actively searching for a flaw.

Eventually she gave up.

"That’s annoyingly good."

Raven turned toward the mirror.

And went quiet.

She would not lie.

The dress was perfect.

It settled against her as though whoever had chosen it had known precisely what they were doing, and the fabric somehow made her pale hair look even brighter. For one uncomfortable moment, Raven barely recognised the woman looking back at her.

Then Thalia made another delighted sound behind her.

Raven immediately turned away from the mirror. "I’m changing."

"What? No."

"It’s eight in the morning."

"That has nothing to do with anything."

"It has everything to do with everything."

Raven escaped before Thalia could invent another reason to keep her in it.

The question of who had sent the dress followed her anyway.

~~ ~

By breakfast, the dress was no longer Raven’s biggest problem.

The entire academy had discovered her new Court Standing before she had even gone to sleep.

Second Seat.

The words followed her through the corridors without anyone needing to say them directly. Students congratulated her as she passed, others simply stared, and Linkslates appeared whenever Raven came near groups discussing yesterday’s rehearsal.

Someone had already placed Adelaide’s declaration that she was still Second Seat beside an image of the updated rankings.

Raven refused to admit she found that particularly funny.

By the time she reached class, even the students who normally pretended not to care about the Court were more interested in the Ball than whatever lesson waited in front of them.

The instructor tried twice to begin.

The first attempt died beneath whispering from the back of the room. The second lasted slightly longer before he lowered the slate in his hand and looked across the class with the exhausted expression of a man who had finally accepted defeat.

Half the students were talking.

The other half kept checking the time.

He stared at them for several seconds before sighing. "Go."

The room fell silent.

Someone near the back blinked. "Sir?"

"Before I change my mind."

Chairs scraped almost immediately.

Raven was halfway through the door when her ceremonial slate chimed, and she slowed long enough to check it.

Her reporting time had been confirmed for shortly before six, along with the final entrance order and her updated placement.

Second Seat.

First Seat representative.

Then her gaze reached the line beneath them.

OPENING PARTNER — PENDING

Raven stared at it for a second before locking the slate again.

That remained a problem for later.

Much later, preferably.

Ideally around the exact moment she could no longer avoid it.

~~ ~

By late afternoon, her shared room looked as though somebody had detonated a wardrobe inside it.

Clothes covered two of the beds, Thalia had somehow taken control of most of the mirror, and Tessa was searching for an earring she swore had been in her hand less than thirty seconds earlier.

Raven had already been forced into the anonymous gown again and was currently sitting still while Brielle adjusted part of her hair.

"Are you finished?"

"Almost."

"You said that five minutes ago."

Brielle gave her a look through the mirror. "Would you prefer I leave it crooked?"

Raven considered that, then decided silence was safer.

A few minutes later, Brielle finally stepped away, allowing Raven to stand and look at herself properly.

The dress somehow looked even better now.

Her silver-white hair had been arranged differently from the way she normally wore it, and the little effort the others had forced into the rest of her appearance made Raven feel suspiciously unlike herself.

Thalia turned from the mirror, saw her and immediately brightened.

Raven pointed at her before she could make a sound. "Do not start."

Thalia pressed her lips together.

"That includes noises."

Her shoulders started shaking.

Raven decided ignoring her was the best route.

Brielle had gone back to fastening something around her wrist when another thought occurred to Raven, and she glanced toward Thalia.

"Who are you going with?"

Thalia looked over. "Me?"

"Yes."

"Nobody."

Raven raised a brow.

Thalia returned to what she was doing with such complete indifference that the answer immediately became suspicious.

Brielle snorted. "She’s been rejecting people all week."

Thalia spun toward her. "Traitor."

Tessa finally found her missing earring beneath a folded shawl and straightened. "At least four."

"Five," Brielle corrected.

Raven slowly looked back at Thalia, who was already beginning to look irritated.

"What?"

"Nothing." Raven studied her for another moment. "I’m simply reconsidering how much I apparently don’t know about you."

"They weren’t my type."

Something in the answer suggested pushing further would only start an argument, so Raven let it go.

For now.

Instead she turned toward Brielle. "What about you?"

Brielle’s immediate look of annoyance was enough to make Raven interested.

Thalia brightened again. "Oh, tell us."

Brielle closed her eyes briefly before muttering, "Lucien Marchmont."

The room went quiet.

Then Thalia squealed.

"A Marchmont?"

"Lower your voice."

"You’re going to the Ball with Isolde’s cousin?"

"Yes, Thalia. Apparently you heard the surname."

Raven stared at Brielle. "Aren’t your families practically raised to compete with each other?"

"That doesn’t mean we’re at war."

Thalia looked delighted. "Your nemesis’s cousin."

"Isolde is not my nemesis."

"You two behave like you’re preparing to duel whenever you’re in the same room."

Brielle rolled her eyes and reached for her earrings, but Raven was still staring.

"Why did you say yes?"

Brielle paused with one earring between her fingers, then gave a small shrug.

"What can I say? He had game."

Raven’s mouth fell open.

Thalia made a strangled sound before collapsing onto the bed laughing, and even Tessa looked surprised enough to stop what she was doing.

Brielle frowned at all three of them. "Oh, fuck off."

Raven turned toward Tessa before she started laughing too. "And you?"

"Julian Prymont."

Every head turned toward her.

Tessa calmly put in her second earring as though she had said nothing interesting.

Raven blinked. "Prymont?"

"Branch family. He’s in Prymont Wing."

Thalia stared at her. "How did I not know this?"

"You never asked."

Anddd that settled the matter as far as Tessa was concerned.

Then all three women turned toward Raven.

She immediately disliked the silence.

"What?"

Brielle narrowed her eyes. "Who are you going with?"

Raven shrugged. "Nobody."

The reaction came so quickly she actually stepped back.

"What?"

"You cannot be serious."

"Raven."

She looked between them. "Why are all of you yelling?"

"Because Dante Prymont asked you almost a week ago!" Thalia said.

"I know."

"And you still haven’t answered him?"

Raven looked down and smoothed a crease from the dress that did not actually exist. "It would be weird now."

Silence followed.

When she finally glanced up, three nearly identical expressions of disbelief were waiting for her.

"What?"

Brielle slowly covered her face with one hand while Thalia tipped her head toward the ceiling as though searching for patience somewhere above them.

Raven frowned. "If I go find him now after making him wait this long, it looks desperate."

Tessa crossed the room.

Raven watched her approach suspiciously until Tessa stopped directly in front of her and placed both hands firmly on her shoulders.

Then she stared straight into Raven’s eyes with a seriousness Raven had not seen from her in some time.

"That may be the worst excuse you have ever given."

Raven grimaced. "Really?"

"Yes."

Raven slipped out of Tessa’s hands and adjusted the dress again. "Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now."

Something dangerous entered Thalia’s expression.

"Unless you’re waiting for someone else."

Raven looked at her.

Thalia smiled. "Cassian, maybe?"

Raven nearly choked.

"What? No!"

All three women went still.

"Why the fuck would I be waiting for him?" Raven demanded, already irritated by the suggestion. "He disappeared. He didn’t tell me where he was going, what he was doing or when he planned to come back. Who cares about him?"

Nobody interrupted.

That somehow made it worse.

"If Blade wants to vanish for days without saying anything, he can stay vanished for all I care."

The silence afterward lasted just long enough for Raven to notice the look passing between them.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What was that?"

Nobody answered.

Raven looked from Brielle to Tessa and then to Thalia, whose mouth was beginning to twitch.

"That look. What did that mean?"

Still nothing.

Raven decided she hated all three of them.

Thankfully, there was an easier solution than continuing the conversation.

She pointed toward the door. "We’re leaving."

Brielle laughed under her breath while checking something at the back of Thalia’s dress, and Tessa gathered the last of her things from the table.

Raven picked up her ceremonial slate and caught sight of herself in the mirror one final time.

Her gaze lingered on the dress.

Whoever had sent it had known exactly what would suit her.

She still had no idea why.

That mystery would have to wait.

Raven tucked the slate beneath her arm and turned toward the others. "Everyone ready?"

Three nods answered her.

Thalia was still visibly amused.

Raven gave her a warning look as she reached for the handle. They had wasted enough time already.

Then Raven opened the door.