Bab 45: Chapter 45: His Choice

The time for the banquet arrives. I’m nervous. Despite all my preparation and instinctive skill, I’m worried it’s not enough.

Althea helps me get ready. She braids my hair and then pins it up on my head. The dress I’m wearing was made specifically for tonight. The corseted top is part of the armor. It stretches up my chest and down my arms, fashionable yet strong.

The skirt opens in the front, revealing the tight pants I’m wearing underneath. At my hip is my dagger along with two more knives at each ankle. The back of the skirt is laced with silver and I’ve hidden additional weapons in the fabric. When the time comes, I can detach the skirt entirely and leave it behind.

I look at myself in the mirror. I feel surprisingly comfortable in this outfit like it was crafted to be worn only by me. And in a way, it was.

It’s an assassin’s dress. Mine.