Body glitter is never a good idea.

Never.

Rowena grimaced at the iridescent glitter covering her arms and legs. "I shouldn't have listened to Liam. I put so much body glitter on, I can taste it."

Jeremiah stood before her, a hand to his chin, inspecting her. "Why did you take his advice?"

Rowena shrugged. "He said he watched a really good beauty pageant before and all the contestants wore body glitter."

Jeremiah frowned. "They did?"

"Yes, but it wasn't until after I slathered on the glitter that Abby called to tell me Liam was confused and didn't watch a real beauty pageant."

"He didn't?"

"No, it was a porno called Peggy does the Pageant about a pageant contestant who slept her way to the crown. In the sequel, she wins Miss Congeniality. I don't want to look like a porn star!"

Jeremiah chuckled.

"This isn't funny," Rowena pouted.

"You're  right. The pageant starts in an hour and you decided to use body glitter. In pageants, we're aiming for classy not courtesan," Jeremiah scolded.

Rowena's eyes narrowed. "Don't  try to insult me with fancy words, Jeremiah. I read romance novels. I know what a courtesan is."

"I think you look beautiful and sparkly...like a star," Carmen said with a smile. Her teeth were painted in red lipstick.

Rowena shuddered. She had hexed her cousin to be nice for the duration of the pageant but Carmen's personality makeover was slightly disturbing.

She forced a smile, taking a step back. "Thanks, Carmen. That's a nice dress," Rowena said, pointing to the scarlet sequined dress Carmen wore.

Carmen nodded. "It matches my lipstick."

"And your teeth," Jeremiah muttered. He whispered to Rowena, "How could she not see the lipstick on her teeth?"

"It's best not to wonder," Rowena answered.

"I'm sure you'll win the pageant and have a great time in Hawaii," Carmen continued. "You deserve it."

"That's not a nice thing to say, Carmen!" Wendy, an employee with a crush on Liam, said. She pushed up the thick glasses perched on her nose. "We all have a chance!"

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Jeremiah asked.

Wendy blushed. She ran her hands down the pink princess gown she wore. "Of course not!"

"You heard me say Liam and you came this way," Rowena said.

Wendy huffed. "We all have to share this space to get ready. It's not like I'm listening on purpose. Not that I heard anything."

"Oh? Then you still like Liam even though he watches cheesy adult movies?"

Wendy shrugged. "That just means he's a healthy normal male with regular desires."

"Not that normal," Rowena muttered, thinking of Liam's shifter identity.

"Stop talking about Liam!" Wendy stomped her foot.

"Are you going to have a catfight?" Jeremiah asked, a crease of worry in his brow. "This is bringing back bad memories of my pageant days."

"I'm not fighting Wendy," Rowena insisted.

"I'm not afraid to defend my man," Wendy growled.

"Your man? Liam belongs to me!" Carmen hissed.

"I thought she was being nice," Liam whispered to Rowena, pointing at Carmen.

"I guess the kindness stops if you mess with her delusions. Liam wouldn't date Carmen or Wendy." Rowena tried to step between the two women but was pushed by Wendy. She stumbled backward.

"Hey!" Rowena jumped back into the fray, shoving both women. "You can't fight on beauty pageant night!" She gasped and turned back to Jeremiah. "That rhymed! Maybe I should do poetry for my talent portion?"

"Mind your own business, Flores!" Wendy snarled. "Carmen needs me to teach her a lesson. Horatio is mine!"

"Liam! His name is Liam," Carmen said. "You can't have him if you don't even know his real name. He told you it was Horatio because he doesn't like you. Get a clue!"

"That's his nickname!" Wendy kicked Carmen in the leg.

Rowena jumped out of the way when her cousin slapped a hand at Wendy.

"This beauty pageant is turning ugly," Jeremiah said, shaking his head. "Just like when I was a kid. One time, I saw two women throw acid at one another. Both of them had kids in the pageant."

"That's horrible," Rowena gasped.

Jeremiah nodded. "What's worse is that they were sisters."

"That's enough!" Sylvia Finch's shout cut through the chatter backstage. "What do you two think you're doing? Do you want me to disqualify you?"

"Disqualify us?" Wendy let go of Carmen's hair. "Then we won't be on TV or win a trip to Hawaii."

"TV? It's public access television and I doubt anyone is going to warch," Rowena said, snickering.

"Rolando told me the pageant is being streamed on social media as well," Wendy shared.

"I came back here to share some announcements, not referee a fight," Sylvia napped.

Manic laughter filled the air. Rowena turned to see Bubbles and Raven making their way backstage.

"We wanted to say hi to all the contestants," Bubbles explained. "I had no idea we'd be treated to a fight before the pageant."

Raven laughed.

Rowena rolled her eyes.

Sylvia clapped her hands, grabbing everyone's attention. "This evening will consist of beauty, questions, and talent. Anyone caught fighting will be disqualified. You're being recorded and we are representing Sweeter Homes. It's important we all show our best faces."

Rowena's lips thinned before she leaned toward Jeremiah. "Best faces? What does that even mean?"

"It means you shouldn't embarrass Sweeter Homes on television," Sylvia answered with a disapproving look.

Rowena watched as Sylvia made herself around the room, thinking of what the vampire king, Banks, told her. Sylvia Finch isn't what she seems. What did that mean?

Bubbles approached, grinning. "Hi, Rowena. Are you nervous?"

Rowena shook her head. Bubbles and Raven may also be part of why Gina was in jail. They followed King Giles and Queen Daisy. Both royal fairies seemed disinterested in Karen and had no reason to kill her. It didn't make sense for them to have Bubbles and Raven from Gina of murder.

Still, Cross warned her the fairies weren't to be trusted and Selig and the fairy princess had a Rocky history.

Raven stood behind Bubbles, silently laughing.

"Is something funny?" Rowena asked.

Raven shook her head. "I was just thinking of something Princess Rose shared. It's about Selig...you know, your boyfriend's brother."

Rowena's eye twitched. She definitely couldn't trust the pageant's hosts. She turned her head to see Sylvia watching them. Sylvia had top billing on Rowena's suspect list.

"I have another announcement," Sylvia shared, her voice rising. Her thin lips spread into a grin. "As you all know, Angelina Moon had to take leave for health reasons."

"No way," Rowena spat. "She quit."

Sylvia's mouth stretched into a wide smile. "She took leave. She's feeling better and now she's back in the competition."

A collective gasp rang around Rowena as Angelina stepped into the backstage changing area in a floor-length silver ballgown.

Her beautiful features were back and she made a point to smile at Rowena. She stopped in front of Rowena. "Are you surprised?"

Rowena lowered her voice. "How did you do it?"

Angelina gave a delicate shrug. Rowena noticed a few dots of rainbow colored glitter fall from her shoulder. It was the same glitter Rowena noticed in the commode where Karen was murdered.

"Wouldn't you like to know? You know, I plan to tell fortunes for my talent portion. I usually use Tarot cards but for you, I'll skip them. Rowena, I see darkness for you. And loneliness. The one you care for will soon abandon you."

Rowena's eyes widened. "Darkness and loneliness? That's impressive."

A perfectly manicured brow rose on Angelina's forehead. "You don't believe me?"

"Not really but let me tell you your fortune as well. Angelina, I see pain in your future. And regret."

Angelina scoffed at her words. "Doubtful. With my beauty back, I'm sure to win this pageant. I'll convince Cross to go with me to Hawaii."

Rowena shook her head. "If you think Cross will leave me for you, you're crazier than I thought."

"We'll see about that." Angelina smirked before shoving past Rowena.

Rowena scrolled through her phone's contacts and called Selig. He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Beautiful," Selig said. "Is this you finally choosing to run away with me?"

"Selig, are the fairies able to undo my hexes?"

His voice stuttered in his throat. "It would have to be a fairy with really strong magic or a few fairies working together. Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I think Angelina killed Karen and the fairies are helping her."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Sorry, for the long delay in updates. I've been sick and having to deal with several issues. Keep an eye out for random updates this week as I bring this story to a close. I wanted to work on all the chapter to post at once but we've had stormy weather so our electricity goes in and out. Anyway, have a great day!