“Warm enough that you had to take off your underwear?” I wasn’t the smartest person, but even I recognized a suspect story when I heard it.
“Males here do not wear additional garments under their breeches,” he replied plainly.
“That’s it? Your excuse is that you were hot?”
He had the decency to look a little chagrined. “My people run a bit warmer than humans. I lit the fire because I did not want you to be cold, but I became a bit overheated. I did not intend to fall asleep without my clothing on. I must have drifted off.”
I found myself so hung up on his first sentence that I completely disregarded the absurdity of his explanation.
“Did you just imply that you’re not human?” I asked, my mouth hanging slack-jawed. “Because I saw pretty much all of you just now, and there was no tail or pointy ears.”
Dey shifted away from me, and I could swear he seemed almost insulted.
“Of course I am not human,” he replied stiffly. “I am Vitaean.”
That word tickled something in the back of my mind, and I recalled what he said in the cemetery—that his home, Rivella, was in Vitaea.
“Okay, but like, you're still basically a human though, yeah? Only you have a different word for it?”
“No, Princess. I am not a man. I am a Vitaean male.”
“But you look…” My eyes scanned his body again, lingering in certain areas way longer than was necessary, but I told myself it was in the name of science.
“If you keep looking at me like that, Rain, it will be very difficult to refrain from educating you in the many ways Vitaeans are superior to humans.”
“I’m sorry,” I sputtered, his words piercing the haze of lust. “Did you just say that you’resuperiorto me?”
His brow furrowed. “Of course not. I would never say such a thing.”
“Oh, okay. Good.” I relaxed back into the pillow.
“I said I am superior to humans.”
I shot back up and glared at him. “I’m human, you dick!”
The pity in Dey’s eyes dropped straight into my stomach where it morphed into a churning, uneasy feeling.
“No, Princess. You are not.”
I was still reeling from Dey’s words an hour later as I stepped out of the shower. He had left to go prepare the staff for my arrival at breakfast after promising that it would only be him and my father in the king’s private dining hall. No crowds. No staring eyes. No whispers and giggles.
I closed the shower door behind me, amazed they even had showers in this world. It only had two temperatures, hot and cold, but the hot setting had been perfect for rinsing away the trauma of yesterday. It was what I always did after a panic attack. Something about a long shower just seemed to reset my brain.
I mentally added the existence of indoor plumbing in a world without electricity to the list of questions I was determined to get answers to at breakfast. Starting off with that bullshit about me not being human. After dropping that little bomb, Dey had resumed his firm stance of letting my father handlethe explanation which pissed me off to no end. You can’t tell someone they're not human then trot off to get a damned bagel.
Cursing his name under my breath, I grabbed the fluffy burgundy towel hanging from a rack and dried myself, relishing the luxury of it. Every scratchy towel I had at home came from the Dollar Store, but this thing felt like velvet. Tossing it on the floor, I snagged the matching robe that was just as soft and opened the door back into my room.
I stopped in my tracks when I found two ladies in front of me, patiently waiting. They appeared only a few years older than me and might have been sisters given their similar appearance. Same height. Same long-sleeved gray dress. Same blond hair that was braided and twisted into a top knot.
As I stepped out of the bathroom, both women made a sweeping gesture, their left arm flowing up their body then back down while simultaneously dropping their weight on their right leg. It was actually quite pretty, and for a second I thought they were about to start dancing.
“Ummm… Hi?” I said, somewhat confused as to why they were in my room at all.
“Salwhay,” they both replied in unison as the one on the left stepped forward, took my hand, and drew me over to a cushioned seat beside the hearth. Reluctantly, I sat in front of the newly kindled fire.
“So, just confirming for my own sanity here, you guys don’t speak English, huh?”
Neither responded, and I slumped back into the chair. As I sat there mulling over my communication predicament, one of the women took up a position behind me and tugged on my wet hair. Whipping my head around, I noticed a brush in her hand.
