Kelai’s hands start to shake as she nervously combs her hair. “In a hurry? But don’t you want to stay for breakfast? I’ll make sweet egg tarts. You’ll love them!”
I take a cautious step forward, fearful now of her manic energy. “Kelai, we just—”
“Go to sleep now,” she says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Sleep, everyone. Rest is important.”
“But we need to—”
“SLEEP!”Kelai’s face darkens, her eyes flashing bright red. It takes her a moment to regain her composure, a friendly smile quickly plastering itself upon her lips as though nothing ever happened. She returns to her usual singsong manner and says, “Good night, my friends. I hope you have the most pleasant dreams.”
She all but glides out of the room, sealing the doors behind her. The four of us are speechless. My palms are clammy as I step toward the door and reach for the handle.
Locked.
I turn to face the humans with a grimace. “I have bad news.”
Wen lets out an angry roar as he charges toward the door, kicking the frame with all the strength he can muster. It doesn’t budge. Doesn’t even creak. The fool falls onto his back like an overturned beetle and groans. One sniff is all I need to know that the door’s been enchanted, sealed until Kelai decides otherwise.
“Should I give it another try?” Wen grunts.
“Please do,” I reply. “I would love to watch that again.”
“Spread out,” Sonam orders, taking the helm. “Look for windows and other doors.”
It takes us less than a minute to realize we’re completely trapped in. Kelai has left us all the comforts of the steam room and main atrium, but there’s no point in denying this place for what it is—a prison. I knew her generosity was too good to be true. Like flies to sugared water, she’s lured us into her trap. We should have left while we had a chance.
Sooah gestures as if to say,Now what?
Wen looks at me with a shiver. “How thick do you reckon these walls are? Could you dig your way through in your other form?”
I crinkle my nose, my breath appearing in the form of silvery clouds. “I can’t smell the earth. The jade around us is too thick. Doubt I’ll be able to make a dent.”
Sooah rubs her arms for warmth, looking around in confusion as unmistakable traces of frost are slowly crawling up the walls, across the ceiling, and over the floors. My teeth chatter, the tips of my fingers and toes already swelling with the sudden drop in temperature. We’re going to freeze. Was this Kelai’s plan the entire time?
Sonam is quick to act. He gathers up sitting cushions and shoving them into a corner, beckoning Wen and Sooah to him. “Gather in close. We need to stay warm. We’ll ambush the goddess when she comes to check on us.” Sonam looks to me next, something close to a question behind his eyes. “You, too, Fox,” he says, slowly holding out his hand.
I hold my breath, taken aback by the invitation. My insides squirm. This is merely a matter of survival, nothing more.
Then an idea occurs to me. It isn’t a pleasant one, but given the circumstances, it is necessary. The chill is already eating away at my skin, but I doubt this strange magic will bother me as much if I’m concealed in warm fur.
Slowly, I lower my head, relinquishing control as Sonam stepsforth. I pry my disguise off. The magic drips away and I crouch down on all fours, scraping my claws against the tile.
“Don’t break it,” I tell him, allowing him to hold my mask.
He nods. “I won’t.”
This mask is my most prized possession—arguably myonlypossession. Yet I know it will be safest with him. I’ll simply have to take him at his word.
A strange wave of insecurity washes over me. I’m so terribly exposed without my mask. Willingly allowing Sonam, Wen, and Sooah to watch me in my true form goes against every fiber of my being. I’ve spent so many years hiding from humans, my survival instincts having taken precedence. Yet here I am, my truest self, helping these three where I normally never would have spared them a second thought.
Ignoring the sensation of their eyes raking over my hideous form, I make my way over to the corner and sit down first. The sourness of their trepidation curdles the air. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t want to curl up with a man-eating demon, either. Without another escape plan, however, they have no choice.
Sooah is the first to sit at my side, tucking her knees to her chest. Wen is next, so cold that he practically buries his face against my fur, any disgust reserved toward me momentarily shelved now that he finds me useful. Finally, Sonam, who holds my mask close to his chest like it’s something precious. He likely wants to keep his arms near his body for warmth, that’s all. Once they’re all seated, I curl my nine tails around them, wrapping the humans up in a cocoon of fur. Far from a perfect solution, but I should be able to see us through the worst of it.
The temperature plummets until it grows unbearable. The moisture from the steam baths only makes things that much more precarious, ice droplets clinging to the fine hair around my eyesand on the humans’ skin. Sooah’s teeth won’t stop chattering. The tip of Wen’s nose has turned an alarming purple. And Sonam…
His eyes are open, tirelessly darting around the room in search of something. An exit, perhaps. Even in our dire situation, he hasn’t stopped trying to formulate a plan. Plotting. Ever alert and looking for solutions. I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so preoccupied with freezing to death.
“Rest,” I whisper, the thin skin of my lips so brittle it’s begun to split. “Save your strength for when she returns.”
