Dark Debt (Chicagoland Vampires 11)

I turned to the box, uncapped it, found a pair of heeled sandals of crisscrossing satin straps that rose to the ankle and tied in a bow. They’d be tricky to walk in¸ but at least the straps would keep them in place if we needed to run.

I laid them out on the bed, climbed into the appropriate undergarments, and went to the bathroom to consider my hair options. My usual option, a high ponytail and bangs, wasn’t going to do it tonight.

I dug through the bathroom drawers until I found a curling iron I’d probably used twice in the last five years. My bangs were long enough to sweep to the side and pin¸ and a few twirls of the iron left my hair in long, tousled curls. Mascara. Lip gloss. A hint of blush across pale cheeks.

And then it was time to don the dress.

I spent two minutes mostly naked in the bedroom, hair curling across my shoulders, staring at the dress.

Was I supposed to step into it? Drag it over my head? Surely the former, but it looked snug enough that I was a little afraid—even with a ballet dancer’s build—that I’d get stuck halfway up.

Unfortunately, time was ticking, so I had to make a call. I let the dress drape to the floor, stepped carefully inside the middle, and began to pull it up the way a woman might don stockings. The dress was fitted, but the fabric had some give to it, so sliding it up wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined.

The zipper was the tricky bit. It ran the length of the back, and even with my relatively long limbs I couldn’t crook my arm enough to get the zipper up more than a few inches.

I was trying what I thought was a very creative approach—lowering the dress, zipping it up halfway, then sliding it carefully upward—when a knock sounded at the door.

“Merit?”

I snapped my hands over my chest as Lindsey’s head popped into the room. The dress hit the floor, puddling at my feet.

“Um,” she said with lifted eyebrows, walking inside and closing the door behind her. She put her hands on her hips, gave me an up-and-down appraisal. “Problem?”

“I’m getting ready!”

“I can see that.”

I turned around, gave her my back. “Zipper?”

“Ah,” she said with a nod, and strode forward, apparently nonplussed at the sight of the bare most of me.

“I like your hair like this,” she said, pulling the sides of the dress together and raising the zipper with a satisfying zwip. “There’s a hook at the top,” she added, fastening it, then plucking at tulle and taffeta until she was satisfied.

“Very nice. Turn around.”

I followed her directions, mostly relieved I wasn’t hanging loose anymore, watched her nod.

“Very nice, indeed.”

Apparently not content with playing at the dress, she fluffed parts of my hair, tucked in others. “This is fun. It’s like you’re my own vampire Barbie.”

She stepped back, hands on her hips, nodding as she looked me over. “Shoes?”

“Box on the bed.” Since there was little chance I was bending over to lace up the ribbons, I lifted the flare of the dress and let her tuck me into the shoes like Cinderella.

The heels were high, but the fit was good, snug. “I think I could run in these,” I said, taking a few in-place steps.

“I doubt you’ll need to sprint at Adrien Reed’s house, but it’s probably best to be prepared.” She pointed to the closet, which held a floor-length mirror. “You want a look-see?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

She stepped aside while I carefully traversed the bedroom, trying not to snag the dress’s flare on the heels or the spindly legs of Ethan’s antiques.

The sound I made when I saw myself wasn’t far off from the sound I’d made when I’d first seen the dress. I still looked like me, but sheathed in a gown that might have been worn by an actress on the red carpet, my hair softer than its usual knife-edge bangs and ponytail, I seemed softer. Not just a girl with immaculate comic timing and fine katana skills, but a woman who could hold her own with the city’s elite.

That reminded me—I’d need something to hold my phone, so I grabbed a simple black clutch from the closet.

I’d just stepped into the bedroom again when the doors opened, and Ethan strode in like a man who owned the world.