Page 21 of Dark Chains: First Link
"My sisters are right here, Drova."
"So? They're seventeen and sixteen, and as Laleh pointed out, they have access to the internet. They know things."
"They do not need to know the things you're about to say."
"In the book I just finished, the main character?—"
"Do not quote smutty romance novels at me in front of my teenage sisters!"
"They're practically adults. And it's not smutty, it's educational. There's a scene where the hero does this thing with?—"
"Drova. I will terminate the call."
"You won't, because you want to know what the thing is."
Arezoo opened her mouth to deny this and discovered that she couldn't, because she did want to know, which was mortifying.
Donya and Laleh were watching her with identical expressions of barely contained gleeful anticipation, their eyes wide andtheir lips pressed together, which meant that they were suppressing laughter.
"I'll tell you tomorrow," Drova said, mercifully backing off. "When your underage sisters are not in the blast radius. But the short version is that you have nothing to worry about. Ruvon is going to treat you like you're made of spun glass, and when you want him to stop treating you like that, all you have to do is tell him."
The words, delivered in Drova's characteristic blend of bluntness and tenderness, were exactly what Arezoo needed to hear.
"Thank you," she said. "For actually showing some restraint for a change and not corrupting my sisters."
"You are most welcome. It wasn't easy."
"I know, which is why I appreciate it. Do you know when you'll be getting here tomorrow?"
"We are supposed to land on the clan's airstrip around five, and we'll come straight to the party."
"Awesome. I can't celebrate without you."
"Oh, that's so sweet. Goodbye, fire goddess. See you tomorrow. Little sisters, make sure she doesn't chicken out and choose to wear something boring."
"We will," Donya and Laleh said in unison.
Arezoo ended the call and looked at her sisters, who erupted into the giggling fit they had been containing for the last two minutes. Laleh actually fell sideways onto the bed, clutching her stomach, and Donya was making a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a wheeze.
"She's crazy," Laleh gasped. "I love her."
"Drova is not crazy. She just has no filter because she's Kra-ell and a badass warrior."
Arezoo turned back to the mirror.
The woman in the red dress looked back at her, and Arezoo stopped trying to reconcile the reflection with the girl she'd been. She'd survived things that should have broken her, but didn't, and this amazing red dress was the manifestation of all that she'd become despite that.
The butterflies were still there. They would probably be there until next Saturday and possibly beyond. But they'd calmed down to a pleasant flutter instead of the panicked flapping from before.
"Okay," she said to her sisters, who were still recovering from their giggles. "Help me take this off. I need it perfect for tomorrow."
"One more picture. For posterity." Laleh aimed her phone at Arezoo.
"Fine. One more."
"Smile this time. You looked like you were about to puke in the first one."
"I did not." Arezoo smiled.
