Lies and Prophecy by Marie Brennan

month was so close. “I don’t have a costume.”
    â€œBorrow something from Ceridwen,” Liesel suggested. “She’s always up for dressing you like Christine Rendal’s latest role.”
    I doubted I had the energy for our downstairs neighbor’s enthusiasm. My resemblance to the actress made her far too happy. “Maybe I’ll just come as a dead college student, killed by stress.” Robert sat up straighter, and I made myself smile, to allay his concern. “Don’t worry about me. You’re the one who has exams after the party.”
    â€œMy own suffering does not eliminate yours,” he pointed out.
    â€œBut allow my misery to enjoy company.” The dream felt far too significant to be about something as minor as exams. No, this was the Chariot, reversed in my reading—the defeat I would suffer if I wasn’t prepared. This was the Strength card, the environment of my question, only it wasn’t just Grayson’s class, or learning CM, or even my hopes for the future. It was something more. I knew it.
    I just didn’t know what it was.
    â€œAre you sure you’re all right?” Liesel asked quietly.
    I met her eyes and smiled again, locking down my worries where even her empathic senses couldn’t read them. “Right now? No. But once I get through exams, I’ll be fine.”
    ~
    The grassy slope of the riverbank seemed to float in the light of the waxing moon, as though it were drifting away from the concrete world of dorms and classroom buildings. On the edges of the clearing, the oak trees loomed dark, marking the boundary of Geoff’s party. Whether Halloween or Samhain, this night was special to many people on campus—even when it fell in the middle of exam period.
    I stood in the shadow of a tree, watching people go by. One last, unexpected warm snap had lured students outside, many of them dressed for the night, though not so fantastically as they would be for my department’s masquerade next term. Even if they weren’t saving their best for then, not everybody had the time or energy to spare for costuming, not with tests still hanging over their heads.
    I had no such worries. Laziness had kept me from going to Ceridwen for something to wear, but I was basking in the deliciously light feeling of a burden lifted. My exams were done. I’d floated through the Palladian Circle’s Samhain ritual earlier that evening, celebrating the harvest and commemorating the long-forgotten departure of the Otherworld, and with that taken care of, I had not a care in the world until next Monday.
    â€œEnjoying your freedom?”
    I turned around and found myself backing up a step. Julian’s body was unremarkable in the standard college uniform of t-shirts and jeans, but in the clothes he’d chosen for tonight, his eyes were suddenly not the only unsettling part of him. I was very glad he didn’t choose that moment to meet my gaze. Julian looked as though he lived partly in the Otherworld.
    As though he knew how alarming he looked, Julian smiled and smoothed his black velvet doublet with one long-fingered hand. I blinked; the spell was broken. “Nice costume.” Close-fitting black pants, high black leather boots—had he raided the theatre department? His black velvet cloak had a vivid dark green lining.
    He bowed at the compliment. “I could say the same to you.”
    I suppressed the urge to tug at my bodice. “Thank you.” After the Samhain ritual I’d changed out of harvest colors into a dark blue skirt, a snowy white shirt, and a black bodice that might be just a wee bit too snug. As long as I didn’t have to run anywhere, I wouldn’t pop the seams—I hoped. “This is just thrown together out of my closet and Liesel’s.”
    Julian extended one black-gloved hand. “Care to accompany me? I’m in search of drinks.”
    The leather shielded me from his