I was having a hard time picking the right outfit for the Spring Ball. I was being ridiculously picky for an event I’d only found out about yesterday—I didn’t know why, but I wanted to look flawless. I wanted to wow.

I’d been through five dresses, but my tailor, Wynona, had been exceptionally patient and kind. She helped me slip into a sixth dress, and, as I stared at myself in the floor mirror, I took a deep breath and knew I’d found the right piece. It was a classic, nineteenth-century style ballgown, with a full skirt and a bodice. It was made entirely out of soft, fiery red silk, with countless layers of tulle beneath the skirt. Thousands of white pearls were sewn onto the bottom half, gently fading toward the upper half. It came with a red tulle bolero with silk hems, tied just below my chest. Wynona completed the outfit with a rich pearl necklace and earrings, and a pair of red silk pumps with more pearls mounted on the heel.

She’d pulled my hair up in a loose bun, and I knew that, once I’d styled it properly, I’d look like a porcelain doll in this ensemble. I was happy but feeling rather weird about it. After all, Exiled Maras and Imen were disappearing, and we’d come all the way here to investigate. I shouldn’t have been so determined to look good at an event from which I was supposed to sneak away to ask Arrah questions without any Roho family members around.

However, as I lifted the skirt and looked at the gorgeous shoes, I couldn’t help but grin. Wynona giggled with delight, pulled a small container with red lipstick from her accessory trunk, and placed it on my vanity table.

“You will look stunning with some red on your lips.” She winked.

The door to my room burst open, and Heron’s voice made me freeze.

“Come on, Avril, it’s taking you forever to…”

He trailed off, and I looked at him. He had stilled in the doorway, hand on the brass knob and jade eyes taking all of me in, every pearl and every inch of red silk. My heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly felt vulnerable, half-naked, with part of my skirt above my knees and generous cleavage provided by the bodice and red tulle bolero. I held my breath as our eyes met.

He was virtually dumbfounded, staring at me. His gaze darkened, and I could practically hear the blood rushing through his veins. I could smell his physical reaction to me. There were hints of musk and desire coming off him in delicate threads, and I took all of them in. He was stunned.

“What’s up?” I managed to ask, letting my skirt drop and straightening my back.

The move prompted his gaze to drop and lazily follow the silk hem of my bolero as it stretched over my torso before tightening beneath my shoulder blades with a bow.

“Heron?” I tried again, as he wasn’t at all responsive. “Heron!”

I startled him, and he seemed to break out of his reverie, making eye contact again.

“What?” he croaked.

“I was asking you the same thing. What’s up?”

“Oh. We, ugh… We need to get to the library. Harper already left,” he muttered, his gaze lost on my dress.

“I’ll be right out. I just need a minute to get out of this thing.” I shrugged, trying to keep my cool before him and kind of irritated that he’d just barged in. “Also, can you knock before you come into my room, next time? Just so I don’t fling blunt objects at your head if I’m half-naked or something.”

His scent was hot and intense, filling my lungs and sending my pulse on a frenzied race through my limbs. My temperature spiked. I’d never experienced something like this before. I’d gotten used to the cold of my vampire nature, but Heron seemed to turn it all up, almost effortlessly.

He nodded slowly, then stepped back into the hallway, without turning around and without taking his eyes off me. He blinked several times before closing the door in front of him.

“Well, then!” Wynona exclaimed. “You should definitely stick with this dress, milady!”

Her giggles made me turn my head to face her. She was positively titillated, grinning with genuine satisfaction, and I felt my cheeks catch fire. Had she noticed my physical reaction to Heron? Had she interpreted his shock in a particular way? What was she reading into all this?

What am I reading into all this? Heron’s a devout philanderer. If I look good, of course he’ll notice… Doesn’t mean it will lead anywhere good.

My voice of reason was back, knocking sense into me.

“Thank you, Wynona, this looks beautiful,” I said with a smile.

“Milady, this dress is meant to dazzle, and believe me when I say that it absolutely dazzled!” Wynona laughed lightly as she packed the rest of the clothes and accessories away.

I couldn’t help but take another look in the mirror. The dress itself was a sartorial work of art. Wynona had already told me that Exiled Maras all over the city used the Spring Ball as an excuse to compete with their most artistic and flamboyant fashions, and that all the outfits the tailors had brought over for us were meant as a more introductory line, to help us blend in, not necessarily stand out.

That was a good premise for us as GASP agents, but, as I glanced at my reflection, I wondered what the socialites amongst the Exiled Maras were going to wear, if this masterpiece serving as a dress was intended to help me blend in. I’d never been to such a sumptuous event before. Most of our parties involved cocktail dresses in the supernatural settings, and jeans and crop tops in the human nightclubs.