“Well, what about the sprite?”
“What about it?”
“Won’t it…die?”
He shrugged. “It’s a sprite. I suppose it would merely find a new vessel to occupy.”
I fell silent as dread coiled low in my belly. Casimir’s plan was entirely too flimsy, too vulnerable to errors. What if Devereaux stole back the Book before we could destroy it? Evren, with his green eyes and fists, was bad enough, but the idea of pissing off Devereaux, a Siphoner with a sadistic streak and a proclivity for torture, made my stomach churn.
On Thursday morning,I awoke to paroxysms of delight from Gwen, who emerged from the hallway with a slim package under her arm.
“It’s for you!” she trilled, tossing the package onto my bed. Attached to the package was a note, scrawled in delicate, slanted cursive.
Consider this a peace offering.
—C
I ripped open the package, sifting through a pile of delicate white paper. My jaw fell open.
A dress exactly like the pale blue silk one I’d worn to Bryce’s party unfurled, but unlike the ruined dress, this one was pristine and shimmering.
Stunned, I held up the dress to show Gwen what the package contained.
“Whoa,” Gwen gasped as I offered it to her for inspection. She looked as incredulous as I felt. “But, my mother bought that dress on a trip to Paris!” she said, her eyes wide as she examined the soft fabric. “Where the hell did Casimir find it?”
I frowned at the note. “How do you know it’s from him?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, comeon. Who else would bother going to the trouble of finding a replacement? He spent nearly three days hovering over you while you recovered.”
I flushed.
“You never did tell me how you got blood all over it in the first place,” she added, wrinkling her nose. “But at this point, I’m afraid to ask.”
I offered her a weak smile in answer.
She tossed the dress back to me, its shimmering fabric catching the light in midair before it landed in my hands. The silk rippled over my skin like water.
I shot her a quizzical look. “Do you want me to hang it up for you?” I offered.
Gwen laughed at my daftness. “This is clearly a gift for you, Arden.”
When I continued to gaze at her in bewilderment, she rolled her eyes and released an impatient huff.
“Arden. A beautiful boy went to a lot of trouble to get this exact dress for you. He wants you to have it! Besides, that shade of blue isn’t really in my color palette,” she added with finality.
I stared at her, and then down at the exquisite dress. “Gwen, are you sure? I mean, I ruined the original dress. And as you said, it’s almost one-of-a-kind!”
But she only nodded her head more firmly.
“I don’t deserve you, Gwen,” I said, almost laughing in disbelief.
“Arden, you’re like the sister I never had,” she said seriously, and then her expression turned positively mischievous. “But I’m sure you can make it up to me sometime.”
I offered her a conspiratorial grin. Gwen was the one person on earth I didn’t mind owing a favor.
She was unable to conceal the way her cheeks reddened as she asked, “Did you happen to see Neha at the party the other night?”
“No, I didn’t see her. I mean, I don’t think she was there.”