Beware the beauty of the Fae... Anastasia's life has been altered without her consent. Dragged into a world she never wanted to know, where beauty and deceit are common bedfellows, Anastasia is slipping too fast into the arms of an unlikely Fae. How...
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Blinking once more, I examined my reflection in my bedroom mirror. Blue eyes, surrounded by thick lashes and smokey, grey eyeshadow, stared back at me. After hastily removing a black lipstick, that made me look like a gaunt hag, I ran a dark 'nude' lipstick over my lips and sighed in relief. I threw the offending, black lipstick onto my bed and vainly enjoyed the way the muscles in my arms pulled and tightened under my skin. In my early teens I'd gone through a horrific gangly stage where my arms and legs seemed to grow so fast they looked like stretched tree branches. It had taken hours of training in the gym to build muscles but, over time, they had grown strong.
Turning back to the mirror, I assessed my appearance again before I stuck another clip into my black hair and made a small prayer that it would help keep my long tresses in place. After a quick comb of my fringe and a final, generous squirt of hairspray, I strapped myself into black stilettos. Looking at my watch, I grimaced; I was late. Once I'd put on my mac, shouted goodbye to Jenna and grabbed my keys, I stepped onto the mat as the doorbell rang. I looked at my watch again and frowned. I didn't have time for this. Plastering a smile onto my face, I yanked open the door.
"Hi?" I said to a startled looking Broch.
"Hi, that was quick."
"Erm, yeah, I was literally just leaving," I paused for a moment, "Is tonight still on?" I asked, confused by his appearance on my doorstep.
"Yeah, I just thought if we walked together it'd get Kalen off your back a little."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
I smiled at him, still slightly confused – I'd never pictured Broch as the type to randomly help me out; he was always so introverted. Still, it was thoughtful of him and I certainly wasn't going to complain. I stepped out of my house, shutting the door behind me, then locking it. I followed Broch as he started to walk over the road and down the path on the opposite side.
"Thank you for walking me by the way. Do you live around here?" I asked him.
"Yeah, just round that way a little." He motioned vaguely behind him.
"Hmm, yeah, I think I know that place," I said pointedly, making him smile. Although I'd known Broch for the last few years, I hadn't had much opportunity to speak with him one on one. He was Kalen's best friend but, other than jujitsu, Broch didn't really spend time with me. Kalen and the others had been to a fancy private school and when I'd hung out with Kalen, Miranda and Gabriel, Broch had usually been busy. Although, since leaving school last year, the others had been busier too so jujitsu had been the main time I'd seen any of them recently.
It was odd being alone with Broch. I tried to look at him discreetly as we were walking along. His styled, blonde hair was darker in the streetlights and the unusual lighting cast shadows onto his face, highlighting his cheekbones and making his lips look incredibly soft. He raised his eyes and caught me staring at him.
