“Let me worry about the Queen, Nate. Go get him.”
I didn’t watch, but I saw a glowing green flame from the corner of my eye while I snuggled under my covers.
I’d be better in the morning. Everything would be better in the morning.
Chapter
Six
Adelicious smell of freshly roasted coffee filled my nostrils. I breathed it in, still half asleep, and moaned softly. It smelled like heaven—exactly like my lazy Saturday mornings with Vincent, in our gorgeous super-king size bed, wrapped up in crisp white Egyptian ten-thousand-thread count sheets. Vincent ran on coffee in the same way that cars run on gas; he always got up early, pulled a double shot of espresso, and brought it back to bed so he could talk to me about the coming day. Except now, he was bringing a tiny cup of espresso back to the beautiful, willowy young Seraphina, not me.
Heartache pierced the fog of my memory and reality set in. Vincent was gone. My old life was gone. And the only coffee I could afford was freeze-dried instant blend which tasted like old, boiled mung beans.
Keeping my eyes shut, I repeated my mantras over and over until the pain in my chest eased.I am a strong, capable woman. I can rebuild my life. I deserve happiness. I am enough.
The beautiful smell of fresh coffee lingered, though, and I cracked my eyes open, wondering if I’d forgotten to close a window or something.
There was a horse in my face.
I jolted and scrambled upright, backing up against the pillows behind me.
The horse sneered. “Well, look whofinallydecided to join the land of the living? I was beginning to think you were going to lie there and snore all morning.”
I clutched my chest. “What… what…”
“Ooh. So eloquent.” The little horse curled his lip, eying me bitchily. “It’s nice to meet you too, Chosen.”
My brain couldn’t process what I was seeing. A tiny horse, smaller than a Shetland pony, was standing by my bedside, talking to me. His hide was a beautiful tan—no, a pure gold that sparkled in the morning light. He had a shiny black snout, and a long, shimmering bright-white mane of hair that tumbled off his crown and neck and down his back like he was a model in a haircare commercial.
I gaped. The horse was standing upright. On his back hooves. Looming over me, in fact, and somehow balancing a delicate blue china cup on one hoof.
I stammered. “W— Wh— Who are you?”
The little miniature horse clip-clopped backwards a little, still walking upright, and tossed his hair, revealing two stubby horns on his crown. “You do not know? You have not heard the deep sighs of longing when my name is spoken? You have not witnessed the frenzied bidding for my services?”
I pinched my eyes closed, then opened them again. Nope, he was still there.
“I am Cecil!” the horse boomed, striking a pose.
My lips felt numb. This was crazy. “What the fuck? What the actualfuck?You’re a… you’re a…”
His head whipped towards me, and his eyes narrowed. “Bitch, if you call me a horse, I will gore you. I don’t carewho you are. I will skewer you like a Thai chicken satay stick.”
I closed my eyes again, breathing deeply. “I am firmly rooted in reality. I am a strong, capable woman. I am in control.”
He let out a snort. “Ugh. You mortals and your delicate sensibilities. Here, drink this.” I felt hot china nudge me sharply in my left boob. The horse was pushing a cup of espresso on me. “I forget how much your kind needs a jump-start in the morning. Maybe once you are suitably conscious, you will remember your manners.”
I felt something crack inside me. All the progress I’d made, all the therapy, all the mantras, the medications… and I was seeing a… a…
“Unicorn?”
“Please.” The horse curled his lip superciliously. “I am more than a mere unicorn. In fact, I am the only one who has evolved beyond the basic bitches in my herd.”
I mouthed for a moment. No words came out.
He waved his hoof. “I’m sure the rest of my primitive brethren will catch up one day,” he sighed dramatically. “Now, sip your single origin, and let's get on with the day. We have work to do!”
I stared at the little horse, realizing for the first time that there was something wrong with the wall behind him. It was far further back than it should be. A lot further back, and for some reason, instead of being painted stark white, it was now papered in vertical stripes of duck-egg blue and cream silk wallpaper.
