“I’ve always said it…” Bria paused to grab a chocolate-covered strawberry with her bare fingers, ignoring both the servant trying to do it for her and the tongs resting right next to the dish. “Lexi rocks the wild, natural look. Demigod Lydia is traditionally beautiful, but next to Lexi, she looked ridiculous. Too much sparkle and shine—like she was compensating for something.”
“Alexis has the natural gift of being the most striking person in the room, regardless of what she wears or how she acts,” Jerry said. “Like her father.”
A chill ran through me. I still hadn’t heard from Magnus, not even in spirit. He’d faded into the background after his intervention at Lydia’s mansion. Given I’d see him again in no time, I knew he wasn’t gone for good. This absence was planned, I just had no idea what the plan was, only that I was somehow going to be part of it.
Daisy snapped her fingers. “Yes!” She pointed at Jerry. “Good work, giant. Yes!” She spread her arms. “Did you notice what he wore? Black on black with a tiny pop of gray. Excellently tailored and the finest quality, but no flash. No bling. Not an eye in the room would have missed him.”
“Because he was saving our asses,” Red said. “What else were we going to focus on?”
“There’s a reason no one likes you,” Bria said to Red.
“Good,” Red replied.
“That guy is used to having eyes on him,” Daisy said. “He is used to commanding a room, you could tell. He doesn’t need any flash or bravado to get attention, and the same is true of Lexi. This is all too flashy. Lately she looks more like a socialite than a magical misfit. It’s not her. No, she needs to take a lesson from dear old Dad.” Daisy turned toward me. “None of this is going to work. We need a new direction.”
“That’s ridiculous. This—” Aubri started.
“No.” Daisy waved it all away and gestured me up out of the chair. “We’re leaving. I’ll be styling her from now on, and I’ll be doing it without all these people standing around, eager to wait on Lexi. It makes her uncomfortable, and it shows. That’s not what we’re going for.”
She said it so resolutely that I had to wonder if this had been her plan all along.
“That’s absurd.” Aubri braced her hands on her hips and an indignant expression crossed her face. “Alexis hasn’t been called out for looking silly since I started dressing her. I’ve kept her consistently on the best-dressed lists. Because of me, articles praise her for her fashion.”
“Ew, all you need to impress those people is to wear something released this year.” Daisy rolled her eyes, her attitude starting to grow back. She was a teenager—it was never far away. “Anyone shopping in the high-end stores could do that. You’ve helped Lexi blend in with all the other clowns in the circus, when really she should be standing out.”
“Oh yeah?” Aubri popped a hip in annoyance. “What do you know?”
“How to survive,” Daisy said, and motioned me up again.
“She just won that argument,” Bria murmured to Red.
“The kid is spot-on about Magnus and Lexi. That’s what won the argument,” Red replied.
“There is literally no talking to you,” Bria said, exasperated.
“Good,” Red replied.
I rolled my eyes at their antics, but I was already getting to my feet. Daisy had won me over, and not just because she’d offered me an out from this sparkling, servant-crowded nightmare. She was a survivor, more so than anyone I knew. Who better to equip me for the challenges ahead? Flash and sparkle had always made me feel awkward and unnatural. If Daisy had another strategy, I was inclined to trust her. Hopefully this would also give her some control and more confidence going into such a dangerous situation.
“Sorry, Aubri.” I gave her an apologetic smile. “She does have a point. But I’ll still need someone to do hair and makeup.”
I followed Daisy toward the door, and the others filed in behind me, although Bria made a grab for another brownie first.
“Wait…what?” Aubri’s voice rose in pitch. “Are you kidding me?”
“We’ll need someone new for hair and makeup after this,” Red said as we stepped out of the warehouse, the bright sunlight raining down on us. Kieran controlled the weather in magical San Francisco, and he’d kept it chilly but sunny. His anxiety of what was to come was getting the better of him, and the sunshine helped cheer him up.
“Oh, totally.” Bria nodded as we walked toward the waiting stretch limo. I didn’t get to drive anymore. If I didn’t have such an awesome car, I wouldn’t have cared. Given I did—well, this restriction was going into the “nope” pile after the Summit. “She’s going to be made of sugar and spite and everything terrible after this.”
“Clever,” Red said sarcastically.
“She has a select sort of clientele, and she works great for that clientele.” Daisy grabbed the door handle as the driver walked toward her. He hurried to intercept, but she was already ducking into the interior. “Her specialty is in leading the small-minded fashion sheep. Right now, her inspiration is the Demigod fashion sheep, but if Lexi tried to run around the Summit looking like Lydia, she’d be a laughingstock. She’d never pull it off. Lexi needs to do her own thing.”
“And you know what that thing should be?” Bria ushered me into the limo in front of her. I slid along the bench seat next to Daisy, followed by Harding, who kinda hovered in the middle of the space.
“No.” Daisy clasped her hands and stared out the window in front of her. “I need to think about it. Talk to Zorn and Amber.”
“Wait, whoa.” I gave her a stop motion as Red and Donovan got in. The others would follow in the Town Car behind us. Jerry took up the space of two people, and Thane was a brick of muscle. Not even a stretch limo could hold everyone comfortably. “Amber has the sexy, lethal thing down, I’ll give her that, and Zorn can rock a tailored suit like no one’s business, but they aren’t fashion gurus. They aren’t the right people to dress me.”
“No sh—crap, Lexi.” She huffed, and I scowled, knowing this no-swearing thing was only in effect when I was within earshot. It really defeated the purpose of having the rule. “Obviously I know they aren’t the people to pick out your actual wardrobe.” She rolled her eyes. “But they can walk us through what we should be conveying with your image.”
The others had given me some training about etiquette, but Bria had suggested it would be best if I didn’t know everything. My mother’s chaos magic had helped us before, and it did best in uncertain situations. I said as much to Daisy.
“Yeah, well, you should look like you’re too important”—she squinted in thought—“or maybe too scary?” She shook her head. “You need to look like you’re too something to remember those details.”
“Does Kieran have all his stuff picked out?” Bria asked, looking through the stocked refreshments on ice. She was digging all this extra treatment.
“He had a bunch of new suits and tuxes tailored.” I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Guys have it easy. They have less options. Less wondering about how much or little to reveal, less worrying about how this cut looks on this portion of the body…” I sighed, pushing away my nervousness. “I’m glad I don’t have to deal with all the politics, though. He’s really studying up. He’ll probably know his top opponents and hopefully allies better than they know themselves.”