The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)(20)
Author: Aimee Carter

A sense of irrational hope filled me. “Is he really what he says he is?”

“And what would that be?” she said, unwrapping a sandwich.

I blurted out everything that had happened since we arrived in Eden. Seeing Henry after nearly crashing into an imaginary cow—the night by the river and how he’d seemingly resurrected Ava—the deal I’d made, and the way James had tried to stop me from taking it—the visit from Henry, and Ava dying the next day—my decision to go to Eden Manor to try to save her, and finally the deal I’d made with Henry that had gotten me this. Suddenly staying with him for six months didn’t seem nearly as bad, not if I got to see my mother every night.

“Curious,” she said, though her eyes were sparkling with amusement. I didn’t see anything funny about the situation. “I wish you’d told me all of this earlier, Kate.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my cheeks flushing as I stared down at my hands. “I thought I was going crazy or something.”

“Hardly.” She reached out and cupped my chin, guiding it upward until I was looking at her. “Promise me you’ll tell me everything that happens from now on, will you? I don’t want to miss anything.”

I nodded. More time with her—it was all I could possibly ask for. “Mom?” I said in a small voice. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I know, sweetheart.”

When I woke up early the next morning, at first I didn’t know where I was. The heat of the sun from my dream still lingered on my skin, and I opened my eyes, half expecting to see my mother standing over me, but it was only the canopy of my bed.

Groaning, I sat up and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. Something wasn’t right, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then, after a long moment, the day before came flooding back to me, along with the deal I’d made with Henry, and my heart skipped a beat. So it hadn’t been just a dream after all.

“D’you think she’s awake now? She ought to be, yeah?”

“If she wasn’t, she certainly is now.”

I froze. The whispers were coming from the other side of the curtains hanging from my bed, and they weren’t voices I recognized. The first was bright and bubbly; the second made it sound like whoever it belonged to wanted to be anywhere but here. I couldn’t blame her.

“What d’you think she’s like? Better than the last one, yeah?”

“Anyone’s better than the last one. Now shut up before you really do wake her up.”

I sat there for a long moment, trying to absorb what I was hearing. I’d locked the door the night before, I was sure of it, so how had they gotten in there? And what did they mean by “the last one”?

Before I could speak, my stomach growled. Loudly. The sort of epic loud that makes everyone in class turn around and giggle while you duck in your seat and try not to turn red. Whatever chance I had at eavesdropping was gone, thanks to my traitorous belly.

“She’s awake!” The curtains snapped open, and I shielded my eyes from the morning light. “Oh! She’s pretty!”

“And brunette. Haven’t had one of those in decades.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I mumbled, but with the sun shining in my eyes, I couldn’t see who I was talking to. “Who’re you?”

“Calliope!” This was the one who spoke in exclamation points, the one who’d called me pretty. I pried my eyelids open just enough to get a decent look at her. Smaller than me, with blond hair that hung past her waist and a round face that flushed pink with happiness. She looked so excited that I was afraid she’d topple over.

“Ella,” said the second girl dully. Still squinting, I got a good look at her and felt a stab of jealousy. Dark hair, tall, impossibly beautiful, and she looked bored to tears.

“And you’re Katherine,” said Calliope. “Sofia told us all about you, how you came here to help your friend and how you’re staying with us for six months and—”

“Calliope, stop it, you’re scaring her.”

I didn’t know if scaring was technically the right word, but it worked for now. As Calliope bounced up and down, getting closer to me with each move she made, I started to lean back. Her exuberance was intimidating.

“Oh.” Calliope took a step back, blushing again. “Sorry. Are you hungry?”

Deep breath, I thought. In and out, in and out, and maybe things would start to make sense.

“She needs to get dressed first,” said Ella, moving toward an armoire. “Katherine, what’s your favorite color?”

“Kate. Call me Kate,” I said through gritted teeth. It was too early in the morning for this. “And I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a favorite color?” said Calliope disbelievingly as she moved to help Ella. I stood and stretched, unable to see what exactly they were doing. Both of them stood in front of the armoire, which looked as if it were chock-full of clothing.

“Not today,” I said, irritated. “I can dress myself, you know.”

Ella and Calliope wrestled something long and blue and soft from the crush of clothing. They both turned toward me, holding—

Oh, no.

“Unless you’ve some sort of inhuman ability to lace yourself up into a corset, dressing yourself isn’t an option,” said Ella, her eyes glinting. I didn’t know if it was out of amusement or malevolence. Quite possibly both.

They held up a blue dress that was so low-cut, not even Ava would’ve touched it. The sleeves were long and narrow, fanning out just toward the end, and there was lace. Lace.

My eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”

“You don’t like it?” Calliope frowned and ran a hand over the soft fabric. “What about something yellow? You’d look nice in yellow.”

“I don’t wear dresses,” I said through a clenched jaw. “Ever.”

Ella snorted. “I don’t care, because you do now. I’m in charge of wardrobe, and unless you want to wear what you have on now until you stink so badly that no one comes near you, you’re wearing this.”

I stared at the blue monstrosity. “I’m not your doll. You can’t make me play dress-up.”

“Yes, I can,” said Ella. “And I will. I’ve got thousands of years of fashion to choose from, and I can make your life a nightmare if you try to fight it. Ever try to sit down in a hoop skirt?” She gave me a pointed look. “Behave, and I might consider giving you a day off every once in a while. But this is my choice, not yours. You gave yours up the moment you agreed to stay here.”