“Oof,” I said with a grimace. "I don’t think your bird likes me."
“He is not a bird, he is a crescia, my bonded companion. And Thorell very much likes you. Though I believe he felt that he was entitled to a few more pets.”
I laughed as we both watched Thorell fly away, then I fixed my attention back on the strange male across from me. “So… other realms exist.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m in one of them.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m not freaking out.” I tapped the bench to confirm it was real and solid. “I feel like I should be freaking out right now. It’s like my brain is fighting itself. One part believes I shouldn't be okay with any of this, or at the very least I should assume this is a dream that will end soon, but another part keeps saying relax and accept what’s happening.” I paused, then added, “I think that part is winning.”
I gazed into his amber eyes, feeling that warm safety blanket wrap itself around my mind. “Why do I trust you?”
Dey gave a long sigh and ran his hand over my cheek. I leaned into the gesture, enjoying how much security came from that simple caress.
“That,” he said soberly, “would be my fault.”
Chapter five
I eyed Dey suspiciously. Something about his statement shifted the tide of the war within my mind, and the unfettered trust began to bow under the weight of my unease.
“And how exactly is it your fault?”
Every aspect of his body—from his face to his shoulders, right down to his massive thighs—slumped in resignation. “It is my magic that is affecting you so,” he confessed. “I am, among other things, a mental caster. I can influence the emotions of others when I touch them.” He lifted his chin to look at me. “You were terrified, and I meant only to ease your suffering. That is what I do. I ease the sorrow of those burdened by emotions they cannot control. I promise you it will fade. The alteration of one's mind tends to lessen once they have been made aware of the change.”
I blinked twice as the comforting feeling receded from my brain. Slowly at first, the reality settled in, eventually picking up steam as a deluge of thoughts raced through my mind, threatening to drown me. Magic wasn’t real. But neither should this place be real, yet it clearly was. And if this place was real,then that meant… he had actually messed with my brain. My brain that never worked quite right and caused me untold grief, but at least I knew my fucked-up thoughts and uncontrolled emotions were my own. He just waltzed in and tinkered with everything, changing me to suit his needs. I felt dirty. I felt violated. I felt… angry.
Without thinking, I hauled my arm back and punched him in the face with the full weight of my fury.
“Motherfucker!” I screamed, partly at Dey for invading my mind and partly at the stinging pain now coursing through my right hand. Was his face made of granite?
The asshole didn’t even have the decency to pretend he was injured, to give me that small satisfaction. He opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he got a single word out.
“No!” I shouted, getting in his face. “You don’t get to speak right now.”
My anger burned under my skin like a living entity, forcing me to my feet. Pacing back and forth behind the bench, I clenched and unclenched my fists. I wasn’t dumb enough to hit him again, but I needed something, an outlet for my wrath. Lifting my face to the sky, I screamed with everything I had left, letting my pure primal rage escape into this new world.
A flock of birds scattered from a nearby oak tree, shrieking their indignation.
“How dare you,” I demanded, stalking closer to him. “Who the hell do you think you are, kidnapping me to some fucked-up dimension and violating my mind? What gives you the right to play with my emotions like I’m a goddamned toy?”
“I am sorry,” Dey whispered. “My ability here is widely regarded as something beneficial. I honestly believed that I was helping you. I did not consider that it might be viewed as a violation.” His head dipped low, and a small piece of my angerfaded, recognizing that he truly didn’t realize the extent of what he had done. Not that I was in any rush to forgive him.
I sat stiffly on the opposite side of the bench, in no hurry to be within touching distance again. “You owe me answers,” I gritted out. “A lot of them.”
“Of course, Princess.”
“Ah! That, right there. Great place to start. Back in… in my world,” I said, still struggling with the concept that other worlds existed, “you said I was a princess. Explain.”
Dey hesitated for so long I feared I might have to punch him again to get some damn answers. My aching hand throbbed dully at the thought.
“I do want to tell you everything,” he admitted. “But there are some things that perhaps you would be better off hearing from your father. You are likely to have many more questions that only he can answer, and it is not…”
I didn’t hear a word Dey said after 'father.' The word hammered through my brain on repeat. Father. I had a father. One who was alive, and here, apparently. Wait, if I had a father, did that mean…
“Do I have a mother?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I was trying, and failing, to keep hope from seeping into my heart, terrified of what he might say.
