Chapter 5

Mara's POV

By sunset, Black Hollow had decided three things about me. I was dangerous, I was interesting, and apparently I could not be trusted to attend dinner wearing a torn ceremonial dress. Maeve stood behind me with a row of pins between her lips while Tamsin tightened the back of a dark blue gown.

"I can dress myself," I said.

"You can also limp across a border barefoot," Tamsin replied. "Your judgment is under review."

I looked at Maeve in the mirror. "Is everyone here unbearable?" She removed the pins from her mouth. "Ronan hires for it."

The dress was not delicate. Heavy blue fabric skimmed my body and left my shoulders bare, while narrow silver embroidery traced the waist. Tamsin had found boots soft enough for my injured ankle and insisted on brushing twelve hours of river