Page 33 of Sparktopia
“Fixed?” She scoffs. “We’ve got forty-five minutes to be lined up and ready. There’s no time.”
“There is,” I insist. “Take it off and I’ll take it to the sewing room and fix it.”
Ceela pouts her lips. “But what aboutyourdress?”
“Mine’s fine. It’s wrinkled and seen way too much action.” The bad mood breaks and we laugh. “But it’ll do.”
Harlow huffs. “I’m gonna burn mine when I take it off tonight.”
But Lucindy, ever the optimist, has a different idea. “We’ll just tear the seams, wash the fabrics as best we can, and turn them all into something brand new.” She beams a smile at us. Everyone but me groans.
“Come on, girls. She’s right. Think positive. Everyone take your dresses off. We’ll steam them and freshen ourselves up at the same time. It’s an Extraction. It’s… exciting, right?” I feel a little bad for calling it exciting for obvious reasons, but it is. I mean, I highly doubt a single Little Sister, in the whole historyof Tau City, ever got to attend an Extraction. “It’s special, girls. And while I do understand that we’re here for a reason”—I shoot them each a knowing look—“we agreed to make the most of this experience, did we not?”
They perk up, just a little. Then mumble out agreements and start unzipping their dresses.
I take mine off as well, then hand it over to Ceela as I take hers. “Steam it. That’s how you can repay me. I’ll be back in twenty minutes and we’ll still have plenty of time to steam yours too.”
She leans in and kisses me on the cheek. “You’re the best, Jasina. The absolute best.”
I smile and then turn, not bothering to put something on over my corset and drawers. It’s just us Little Sisters in the dorm and anyway, we’re tucked so far in back there’s no chance anyone will see me.
I make my way to the nearest sewing room, then rush over to a machine. I haven’t had a chance to work the electric machines yet, but once I figure out how to turn the power on, it’s pretty much the same as the foot-pedal model I grew up with. There are a lot of settings for fancy stitches that I have no clue how to use, but I don’t need a fancy stitch to make a hem repair.
The mending goes quickly and soon, it’s done. I stand up, gather up the dress, and I’m just about to head back in the direction of our space when I spy the spine of a book sticking out from a bookshelf just a few feet from me.
It’s… enticing. Almost deliberately so. Because who in their right mind can walk past this half-shelved book without pushing it back in?
Not me. I walk over, place my fingertip on the spine, and push it in. But as I’m doing this, I read the title. “The Godslayer and His Courtesan.” I smile and pull it back out so I can study the cover.
I know the stories. The kid’s versions, not this one—which is something much more than a child’s tale because this is a thick tome and not a picture book. It actually has a subtitle that reads:The Untold History.
Interesting. Because this implies that it’s not a myth, the way it was portrayed in the children’s book I had as a child, but something more.
I like the story because it’s a happy one. Kind of. I guess it depends on how you look at it. It starts out as a classic star-crossed lovers story, but there are adventures. Many adventures and many versions too.
I read them all as a child. The main characters never had names. Maybe in this serious version they do, but in the book I had as a child they were only known as the Godslayer and his Courtesan.
I’ve never thought about that title before. Courtesan makes sense for the girl, I guess. It’s a little derogatory, if you ask me, but OK. Godslayer though? I don’t remember ever knowing why they called him the Godslayer.
Weird.
“Jasina?”
I turn, startled, and find Ceela standing at the entrance that leads to this space. “You scared me.”
She lifts up one shoulder in a half apology. “Sorry. I just got worried when you didn’t come back.” She eyes the book I’m clutching to my chest. “What’s that?”
“A book I found sticking out of the shelf. Do you remember the story of?—”
“Jasina! We don’t have time for this! Did you fix my dress?”
“Oh. Right. Yes.” I thrust it at her. “All done. Let’s go.”
I put the back on the shelf and we both scurry back to our spaces to finish getting ready.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The rest of the eveningpasses just as quickly as the afternoon did. After Mitch and I left the viewing room we went back downstairs to deal with last-minute preparations for the dinner, gala, and ceremony.
