The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 20

Char steeled himself and schooled his expression while he and Rath washed the dishes. He was not giving Rath the satisfaction of a dramatic reaction to Iris' appearance in that dress. There were more important things to think of, anyway. Like where he was taking her. In a few hours, he would be sneaking her into the barracks, and he had to make a decision by the time they left the flight cavern. His shared hideouts with Rath were out. Most of those were their father's first, which, as he recently discovered, meant Kelnor may know about them. A place with a strong magical barrier would be ideal to try to prevent the mage from tracking her location. Which meant...

"I really can't wear this," Iris protested, her voice coming to them from the hallway.

"Oh, hush. It's actually pretty sensible compared to what a lot of girls will be wearing," Elera replied, stepping into the kitchen and pulling Iris along by her arm.

Iris did not look comfortable. She was blushing furiously, averting her brown eyes from Char and Rath, who were both staring. The dress was tighter than Char expected, but her figure was also fuller than he realized when all he had to go off of were images of her in that faded blue dress and his mother's nightgown and robe. The royal blue fabric hugged each curve and dip, perfectly concealing the amulet's chain under the halter top and not much else. He'd guessed that the stone would fall just below the keyhole, and he was right. The strip of folds traveling down her body to the hem of the mid-thigh-length skirt hid the stone completely. Her bare legs had plenty of appealing curves, too, and the blue pumps seemed to fit fine.

"I have to admit, you boys actually did a good job," Elera said, adjusting Iris' hair to fall evenly over one shoulder.

"Looks good. Let's go," Char said coolly. "Rath still needs to give Misa her dress before the party."

Rath smirked at Char. "Yeah, wouldn't want to be late to the party."

"I barely know how to walk in these," Iris said doubtfully.

Char walked up to them, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and taking Iris' arm to lead her to the door. "Thanks, Mother. I'll stop in again as soon as I can."

"You better," she warned him. "If I find out something happened to either of you-"

"They'll be fine, Mother," Rath cut her off.

"Thank you for everything, Elera," Iris called back.

"Take care of yourself, Iris," their mother replied.

Char led her out into the street, sliding his hand down her arm to intertwine with her fingers.

"I really don't know about this," she said, her blush visible even without his keen night vision.

"Just stay close to me, and you'll be fine," he replied. "I told you I'd teach you how to dance, remember?"

"When this was all over," she reminded him. He had to shorten his strides for her, but she was adjusting to the high heels quickly.

"Well, plans change," he replied, smiling down at her.

"Okay, now that we're not in front of Mother, you can tell her what you really think of that outfit," Rath said, coming up alongside Iris and grinning slyly at them both.

Char rolled his eyes. "Where does Misa live?"

"Not too far from here. How long are you planning on sticking around?"

"I don't know. A few hours, probably."

"A few hours?" Iris squeaked, looking up at him anxiously.

"We need to make this look like any other party," Char replied.