"You have got the bone structure of a queen," Serra mused, twirling a strand of Autumn’s hair between her fingers. "Why hide it?"
Autumn looked down, her fingers brushing the torn edge of the sofa. "Maybe this is a mistake," she murmured, more to herself than to the others.
She sat still as the red dress now draped across her lap like a sleeping flame. It looked unreal against her skin tone, like something out of someone else’s life.
Niva didn’t answer at once. " Relax! Let’s take this slow! " She simply lit a single taper candle from the brass holder on the vanity. As its golden glow flickered in the dimmed light,she turned, her expression unreadable." Transformation does not happen in comfort, Autumn."
The door creaked open again.
Mara had returned,but not alone.
Behind her, two other women stepped in. "Are you ready?" She asked, placing a tray on the nearby table.
"I don’t know," Autumn whispered.
Mara attacked Autumn’s chopped locks without her permission! But her approach was pure precision...like that of a warrior on a battleground. She trimmed the ragged edges into something soft. She made the asymmetrical layers that framed her face ,look like a crown.
Serra sprayed something watery and misty on Autumn’s face, followed by oils that smelled of winter pine.It felt good...relaxing... like she had never experienced before.
" No heavy powders," she muttered.Instead, she brushed a faint shimmer over Autumn’s cheekbones, just enough to catch the light.
A swipe of something rosy on her lips. A hint of kohl to sharpen her eyes. Niva knelt in front of Autumn and gently took her hand. "This isn’t about pretending to be someone else," she repeated as if making sure Autumn was thoroughly reassured...her voice soft but steady. "Remember...It is about remembering who you were... before anyone broke you. And becoming who you were always meant to be."
Autumn’s lip trembled. "I don’t remember that girl...I...I don’t know her."
"Then let us help you find her," Serra whispered.
Niva and Serra backed away and opened one of the vials.It was another soft, rose gold mist and spilled it into the air.
It wrapped around Autumn’s shoulders like a shawl of warmth. "Close your eyes," they said."This is a Masking scent like none other. Especially formulated for changing your hair and eye colour, along with your physical odor. A perfect cocktail to let you be yourself... stay hidden until you want to be discovered! "
Autumn hesitated... then obeyed.
The first thing she felt was a gentle tug at her scalp. Fingers, deft and cool, untangling her messy hair strand by strand.
"She has been walking in thorns too long," Marra muttered under her breath, fidgeting with her fingers for some reason. "May the brambles fall away."
"She has been hiding in winter," Niva added, as she began dusting Autumn’s cheeks with the softest shimmer of crushed moonstone and rose. "Time to thaw."She dabbed more gently at Autumn’s collarbone and behind her ears.
Autumn gasped slightly. Not in pain. In... awakening.
She could feel something shifting inside her ...not physically, but on some visceral level. As though her bones were remembering their purpose. Her blood, its origin.
Niva reached for the red dress and lifted it towards her. "Put it on," she said.
Autumn stared at it. Her hesitation clung to her like a second skin.
"I am still scared," she confessed in a shaky breath. " Honestly, I don’t want to be in the same gathering where... "
"Good," Serra said without letting her complete."That means you are not numb anymore."
Serra’s fingers found the first button of Autumn’s borrowed tunic...her touch was deliberate but unhurried.
The pad of her thumb brushed the hollow of Autumn’s throat as she worked.
Autumn held her breath.
Niva circled behind Autumn, her hands sliding over the slope of her shoulders, thumbs pressing into the knots of tension there. "Breathe, little wolf.You are still too stiff! "
A shiver skated down Autumn’s spine as the fabric loosened. She felt it slipping inch by inch.
Mara knelt before her, her fingers hooking into the hem of the tunic, tugging it down ward with anticipating slowness. The air kissed Autumn’s bare stomach, her ribs, the dip of her waist...each newly exposed patch of skin tingling under their collective gaze.
"Look at you," Serra murmured, her voice thick with something like reverence. She traced the curve of Autumn’s hip, just above the waistband of her leggings. "All this fire, and you have been smothering it."
Niva’s hands slid the tunic off completely, letting it pool at Autumn’s feet. The cool air from the balcony raised goosebumps along her arms, but the heat of their attention...so awkward,yet steady...unflinching...kept her from crossing her arms over herself. From hiding.
Mara’s fingers found the tie of Autumn’s leggings, tugging the knot loose with a single, slow pull. The fabric sighed open, sliding down her thighs, leaving her in nothing but thin underthings.
For a heartbeat, Autumn felt exposed... but then she did not.
Serra’s breath ghosted over Autumn’s bare shoulder. "You are allowed to want things, you know."
Serra guided Autumn’s arms into the sleeves of the red dress, next.
Niva stood behind her, smoothing the fabric over Autumn’s shoulders, her palms skimming down the length of her spine. "This color was made for you,Autumn," she murmured, her lips close enough to Autumn’s ear that the words vibrated through her. "It’s the shade of a wolf’s mouth after a hunt."
Mara fastened the clasps at the small of Autumn’s back, her fingertips pressing lightly into each notch of her spine as she worked her way up.
"You feel that?" she asked. Her voice hadna teasing lilt. "That is your blood remembering how to run hot...on its own... no men involved!"
Autumn exhaled, slow. The dress embraced her like a second skin, the slit in the skirt parting with every slight shift of her legs, the neckline dipping just enough to hint at the swell of her breasts.
Serra stepped back, her dark eyes gleaming. "There she is."
Niva’s fingers threaded through Autumn’s hair, tilting her chin up. "Look."
Autumn turned toward the mirror...and froze.
The woman staring back at her was a stranger.
Mahogany cropped hair, green eyes, sharp features... in a killer red dress!
Mara’s reflection grinned over her shoulder, "Welcome back, fire heart."