Lily's fingers trembled slightly as she finished applying the balm. She took a deep breath, inhaling the artificial scent that now clung to her skin. It felt wrong, like a betrayal of her true self.
"I know," she sighed, meeting Caspian's troubled gaze. "It's s**t, but it's necessary. This way, I can pretend I've just been working on masking spells all day, or even that I’m using it to hide my scent from Gideon."
She moved to the cracked mirror hanging on the wall, studying her reflection. The woman staring back at her looked the same, but Lily felt profoundly changed. Her voice lowered to a whisper, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "Assuming I'm back at my flat tomorrow night, I'll shower it off then."
Caspian stepped closer, his cool presence at her back both comforting and
