I tried it on in my dorm room and stared at the glittering, red display I made.

“No,” I said aloud.

Someone knocked at my door, and I grimaced. It would take forever to change out of the elaborate dress, so I had no choice but to answer in costume. Fortunately, it was Jill. Her mouth opened to speak and then just hung there in silence when she saw me.

“I know,” I said. “It’s ridiculous.”

She recovered herself a few seconds later. “No… no! It’s amazing. Oh my God.”

I hurried her into the room before our classmates could see me. She was also dressed for the dance, in a fairy confection of pale blue gauzy material that looked perfect on her willowy Moroi frame. “It’s red,” I told her. In case it wasn’t obvious, I added: “I never wear red.”

“I know,” she said, wide-eyed. “But you should. It looks amazing on you. You should burn all your gray and brown clothes.”

I shook my head. “I can’t wear this. If we leave now, there’s still time to go by the costume store and get something else.”

Jill shook off her awed state and took on an adamant, fierce look that seemed kind of extreme for the situation. “No. Absolutely not. You are wearing that. It’s going to blow your boyfriend away. And you should put on a little more makeup—I know, I know. You don’t like anything crazy, but just darken the eyeliner and put on some lipstick. Just a little. You’ve got to match the dress’s intensity.”

“You see? Already this color is causing problems.”

She wouldn’t back down. “It’ll take like a minute. And that’s all we’ve got. If we don’t leave soon, we’re going to be late. Your boyfriend’s always early, right?”

I didn’t answer right away. She had me there. Brayden was always early, and as much as the costume pained me, I couldn’t stand the thought of making him wait—especially since he wouldn’t be able to get into the dance without an Amberwood student.

“Fine,” I said, with a sigh. “Let’s go.”

Jill grinned triumphantly. “But first—the makeup.”

I conceded to the makeup and then, at the last minute, added my cross necklace. It didn’t go with the theme and was instantly swallowed by the more flamboyant gold jewelry, but it made me feel better. It was a piece of normality.

When we finally left, we found Eddie waiting for us in the lobby. He was dressed in normal clothes, his only nod to Halloween being a plain white half-mask that reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera. I was half-tempted to ask if he had a second one so that I could do a quick wardrobe change and just go masked.

He jumped up from his chair, his face going dreamy when he saw Jill in her blue, ethereal glory. Honestly, how could no one else see how crazy he was about her? It was so painfully obvious. He drank her in with his eyes, looking as though he might swoon then and there. Then, he flicked his gaze over to me and did a double-take. His expression wasn’t lovestruck so much as dumbfounded.