Franco faces me. “Welcome to the moon baths. This is another place I recommend you come at night. I’ll keep this room private and have a servant bring fresh clothes. In the meantime, make yourself at home.” With that, he shudders and transforms into a black raven. I jump, hand to my pounding heart as I watch the raven prince fly into the hall.
Alone in the bathhouse, I stare at the pools. The size of the room and the vast sky above make me feel vulnerable. Even though I’m the only one here, I feel exposed, but the thought of cleanliness is too tempting to ignore.
Before I can change my mind, I hurry to peel off my filthy clothing. Luckily, my corset has been torn enough that I can remove it without aid. Then I slip beneath the soothing waters.
* * *
Once clean,I find my pile of clothes have been replaced with a thick towel and a dress in a lightweight shimmery fabric the color of fire opals. I pull the dress over my head, relieved to return to the freedom of fae clothing after the confines of my corset.
Unsure where to go now, I take a few hesitant steps past the sliding door and into the hall. Lorelei leans against the far wall, arms crossed. She appears to have gotten cleaned and changed as well, all blood and grime wiped from her brown skin, a long, silky, black dress clinging to her form. Her expression looks relieved when she sees me. “Oh good, Franco didn’t drown you.”
“You should be surprised I didn’t drownhim.”
“True.” She gives me a halfhearted smile, then nods toward the other end of the hall. “Come. Nyxia has rooms for us so we can rest.”
I follow her eagerly, the wordrestlike a tantalizing prize. The bath was merely a precursor to what my body truly needs after everything it’s been through in the past twenty-four hours. But first, there are questions that need answers. “Did you explain my situation to the queen?”
Her expression darkens. “I did. She’ll provide you hospitality so long as you need.”
“You don’t seem happy about that.”
“I’m happy that we’ve found a safe place for you to stay.”
“But you aren’t happy that you have to see her because of it.”
“Exactly.”
“So...you and Nyxia?”
“Yeah,” she grumbles. “We were a thing. Two years. She wasn’t into settling down like I was. She was even less into seeing me move on to someone else. Hence her petty revenge on Malan.”
It’s hard for me to imagine my friend in a relationship with the domineering Nyxia. However, it’s clear Lorelei can hold her own against the queen.
“That’s why she owes me a favor,” Lorelei says. “I nearly tore her head off, queen or no, after what she did to my lover. Like I said, prepare yourself for some uncomfortable dreams while we’re here.”
“Will do.”
We come to a small room with walls of onyx and silver. The ceiling hosts not a dome but a glass window in the middle where faint light streams through. A bed with indigo velvet blankets beckons me from inside. Lorelei puts her hand on my arm. “You should get some rest. Do you…feel comfortable staying in this room alone? I can stay with you.”
I try to offer a reassuring smile. “No, Lorelei, I’ll be fine here by myself.”
“Very well. I’ll be in the room next door if you need anything.”
She slips down the hall, and I enter my room, legs nearly puddling to liquid as I head straight for the bed. My head hardly hits the pillow before sleep overtakes me.
The nightmares begin without warning. I’m trapped in the underground laboratory again, and Mr. Meeks stands over me with a knife, the gaping wound at his neck trailing blood down the front of his apron. He cuts into my arms, my legs, my skull. I scream, but my lips are sealed shut. Fire roars around us, but instead of strengthening me, it burns the flesh from my bones. Mr. Meeks doesn’t cease his operation, his knife digging into my very soul as flames char him from man to skeleton. The fire obscures my vision, but before it burns my eyes, I see the silhouette of a stag charging through the room.
Aspen.
I repeat the name like a soothing melody. The more I focus on it, the dimmer the terrifying visions become. Finally, the nightmare fades, blood and fire drifting to smoke as I follow the safety of the name. No longer is the dark lab surrounding me. Instead, a bridge spans before me, and I don’t hesitate before crossing. At the other end, I find myself in the dining room at Bircharbor Palace, the sound of waves falling upon my ears.
Aspen stands at the rail near the open expanse, back facing me as he stares out at the night sky. My heart leaps at the sight of him, at his messy hair, his towering antlers, the wrinkled waistcoat that tells me he hasn’t been sleeping well. Like before, a violet aura glows around him.
“Aspen.” I say the word out loud this time.
He whirls, freezing when he catches sight of me. For endless moments we do nothing but lock eyes. Then his swift stride carries him across the room. His hands frame my face as his lips press into mine. My body responds to his, arms wrapping around his waist, moving up his back. Our kisses are hard and urgent, as if fighting against the strain, that discrepancy between what our touch feels like and what itshouldfeel like if this were real.
It’s the only thing that reminds me this is just a dream.
