My grip on the stake tightens. “Why should I believe you?”
“Please, miss, I’m here to help you get ready for the welcoming dinner. Master Knox sent me.”
Oh. She’s in league with him.
Again, that internal battle with myself waged war inside of me. How is it possible for me to simply know that I can trust him and that he is basically my lifeline here? Nothing about this place makes sense.
And did she just call those creatures Rabbids?
“Okay, I’m going to… pick up my towel now. But one wrong move and you’re dead, do you understand?” I watch the creature nod her head feverishly, her hands still covering her eyes. I cover myself up quickly, never losing sight of her.
How am I supposed to know if Knox really did send her? This could all be an elaborate trick. In fact, it wouldn’t even surprise me if she lunges for my jugular the moment I lower the stake.
“You can take your hands away now. I’m decent.”
She hesitates for a moment. A small tremor in her hand as she uncovers her eyes tells me that maybe she’s not like the others. Her face is just as twisted and scaly, but there is life and emotionbehind her alarmingly red eyes. She looks afraid of me and in that moment, I feel a tiny flicker of guilt.
“Miss, I am sorry I startled you. I was sent by Master Knox to help you get—”
“Dressed for the dinner, right?” I ask, my voice a tiny bit softer than before. She seems to relax; her shoulders fall a few notches and a small smile creeps across her face. It is an odd juxtaposition.
“Master says that you wouldn’t know where to start.” I watch her tentatively edge closer to the wardrobe as if I might be startled by sudden movements. She pulls out a silk robe in the same shade of powder blue as the silk bed sheets. It bears no pattern. It doesn’t need it. The only extra detail are sleeves frilled with a labyrinth of white lace.
“My name is Betty, by the way.”
She holds the robe open for me, hiding her face behind it. I glide into it, savoring the feeling of the soft fabric against my skin. The material is unbelievable, like everything else in this place.
“Now, shall we finish getting you ready?” Betty asks. “Master Knox isn’t very patient.”
I guess I have no choice but to trust the process.
“Knox seems to think the world and everybody’s schedule revolves around him…” My tone drips with sarcasm which, luckily, she finds funny.
Her laugh is raspy as if she smokes forty cigarettes a day. “He can be a bit spoiled. But that’s what happens when you’re the last remaining heir of one of The Five.” She guides me to the dressing table, pushing down on my shoulders firmly to make me sit.
“So, he’s, what? A prince? Shit, is that why my room is like Cinderella’s wet dream?” I scoff.
I watch Betty turn an odd shade of warm green.Is she blushing?
“The room is created to each individual’s specifications. The magic in this place never lies. It creates your deepest desires for you.”
Now it’s my turn to blush.
“Oh. I see,” I mutter sheepishly as she begins to brush my hair.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that the vampire slayer has a thing for princess bedrooms,” she taunts.
“I’m not a vampire slayer,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Of course you are, why else would you have brought stakes with you?” She nods towards the window and the endless desert outside. “We all saw how you killed a Rabbid out there. It’s not an easy feat. You must be well trained.”
I want to die of embarrassment. I have no training, just a revenge vendetta.
8
Knox
“You cannot be serious?!Knox, she hadstakesin her bag. She’s a threat to all of us, and you just decided to let her take part in the training?” Celeste laughs bitterly. “It’s official, you’ve lost your goddamn mind!”
