"How do I look?" Minerva asked.

I glanced over. She was standing before her mirror, trying to adjust the two enormous gemstone earrings hanging on either side of her face. Her dress today was a stormy grey with embroidered swirls of black. The line of her collar was deliberately uneven, shifting from a strap over one shoulder to a tantalizingly low-hanging cut on the other. Even distracted as she was, Minerva looked like a queen--determined and impressive.

"You're definitely ...