I blushed. “My sister Tessa thinks I ought to be, so she sent me these things—and convinced my other sisters to do the same.”

“Your sister is very wise,” Ivy said, her hand flashing out to recover a pair of red panties from my drawer.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Drake said, heading for the front door.

“Ok, so what are you thinking?” Ivy asked me when he was gone.

“I’m trying not to.”

“Don’t be nervous. It will be fine. You will do great. I can’t believe you’re up for level two already. And, by the way, so is Jace.” Her smile faded, and she rolled her eyes.

So Jace was still coming along on Nero’s mission, which meant I’d replaced Mina. If she ever found out about that, she’d have yet another reason to hate my guts.

“But I meant, what are you thinking about wearing tonight?” Ivy asked.

“Uh…well…”

She moved past me. She reached into my closet and pulled out a red leather miniskirt and a black top with larger pieces of material missing from the front and sides. No, the moths hadn’t eaten through the fabric. It was intentionally cut out. The top was another gift from Tessa. My seventeen-year-old sister had interesting ideas of what constituted an article of clothing. What she insisted was a top, I called only a piece of a top. Ivy clearly shared Tessa’s taste. She nodded and smiled at it in approval before tossing the questionable shirt onto my bed.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, holding up the leather miniskirt.

“Positive.”

“Why? So if I fall, everyone will see my underwear?”

Ivy smirked at me. “Exactly. Hence the red lace panties, of course. They match.”

I stripped out of my sports clothes. “I was thinking of just wearing my uniform.”

Ivy snorted. “Who are you now, Nero Windstriker? No, trust me, honey. The Legion is wise in letting you pick what you’re going to wear for the ceremony. They want you to party, and we’re not going to disappoint them.”

“Or they’re just letting us decide what we’ll die in.”

“Hey, don’t think like that.” Ivy squeezed my shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”

I took a deep breath, inhaling her optimism. “I know.” Last night had been a harrowing reminder of how dangerous life here was, but after what I’d seen, I was even more determined to make it through all of this and find Zane. I didn’t want anyone in my family to ever have to join the Legion.

“So tonight is a busy ceremony,” Ivy said in her lighthearted tone as I put on the red lingerie. “It’s you going for level two. And Jace too.” She gave her eyes another long roll. “Then Corporal Lynch and Corporal Solis going for level three. And Lieutenant Diaz going for level six.”

“Is this the same Lieutenant Diaz who worships the ground you walk on?” I asked her, sliding the skirt over my hips.

“The one and same,” she replied with a gleeful grin.

She was changing into a skin-tight black and white dress that was cut halfway to her knees. She topped off the look with a pair of gold high-heeled shoes. Her red hair was down tonight, falling to her elbows in bouncy curls.

“There will be music and dancing,” Ivy said. “And tons of food. It will be great.”

I smoothed out my top, then slid into a pair of black leather boots. “Ok, I’m ready.”

Ivy’s explosion of laughter echoed off my empty walls. “Oh, no you don’t. Not so fast. I’m doing your hair and makeup. I am not letting you out of here looking anything short of one hundred percent fantastic.”

By the time Ivy was through with me, I did look fantastic—if not a bit slutty. That was exactly what she’d been going for, she’d assured me with a wink as we headed downstairs.

Two large standing vases stood on either side of the double doors that led into the ballroom. A scene of angels fighting monsters was painted on each vase, the masterful strokes of color even more beautiful than the giant flowers shooting out of the tops. Past the entrance, beams of golden light shone against the walls, and a web of blue twinkling lights hung overhead like thousands of tiny stars. And beneath that majestic sky, hundreds of Legion soldiers filled the ballroom. It felt like the whole New York office was in attendance. They stood chatting around the buffet tables and bar, and they danced across the floor with supernatural grace. Skirts and tuxedo tails twirled and turned in hypnotic swooshes of light and color.

“We’re underdressed,” I muttered to Ivy, looking out across the room. Almost everyone was dressed in formal wear. They were decked out in silk and chiffon while we were wearing leather and spandex.

“Nonsense,” Ivy laughed, indicating a small group of people dressed just like we were. “Besides, don’t you want to stand out?”

No, I didn’t want to stand out. I wanted to blend into the shadows. As we headed toward the dance floor, I could feel hundreds of eyes turn toward me, but when I looked, no one was staring. It must have been my imagination. I was letting Nerissa’s words get to me. Most of those people didn’t even know who I was.

Ivy’s admiring lieutenant stepped into our path, bowing deeply before her. She giggled, then took his hand. As the happy couple waltzed their way across the dance floor, I sat down at the bar and ordered myself a pineapple juice. Even though my nerves were shot, I didn’t dare order anything harder. I couldn’t take any chances of the alcohol reacting badly to the heavy dose of Nectar I was about to ingest.