Deciding to figure it out later, she brushed some powder on her face and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She really needed to shower and wash it, but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to manage that much yet. She was clean enough thanks to the baby wipes. It would have to do for now.
She went to the suite’s office and sat with the chair positioned so the blank wall served as her backdrop.
Rhea’s face came onto the screen, then Felix slid his face into the camera’s view, too, and Emmy gave them a big smile.
“Holy shit, you really are alive!” Felix said, his grin huge.
“Barely,” Emmy admitted. “How are you guys?”
“Better than you, by the looks of it,” Rhea said, but her expression was fond.
“You look like you got hit by the same truck as the rest of us,” Felix noted.
“Multiple times,” Emmy agreed. “But I’m eating solid food now. Scrambled eggs this morning.”
“Fancy.” Felix leaned closer to the camera. “The nurse said you got hit worse than everyone but Jake the snake, and he nearly died. The rumor is that it was a dragon poison, and it just happened to hit the other reptiles?”
“That’s what Zander says. Means if I’d gone aboveground tochange, it would’ve killed me.”
“But you’re okay now?” Rhea’s eyes were searching Emmy’s face, and Emmy knew her friend was seeing more than just the illness.
“Getting there. Another few days and I’ll be back to normal.” Emmy shifted in the chair, suddenly aware of how different she felt — not just physically, but emotionally. She supposed nearly dying would do that to a person. “How’s everyone else?”
“We’re good,” Felix shrugged. “I’ve been doing a lot ofchangesso I can make tons of money, but I’ve taken myself off the availability schedule a few days. Never thought I’d say I was completely fucked out, but…” Another shrug. “Maren’s organizing a ‘we survived the poisoning’ party for when everyone’s healthy.”
Emmy laughed, the sound genuine. “Of course she is.”
Rhea tilted her head, studying Emmy through the screen. “You look different. Good different. Like…” She paused, searching for words. “Like something changed.”
Emmy’s cheeks heated, and she hoped it could be blamed on the fever. “I thought I might die. I’ve never confronted my own mortality before. I’m supposed to live until someone kills me, and I guess I just didn’t expect that last part to actually ever happen.”
“Mm-hmm.” Rhea’s smile was knowing. “My birdie vision tells me that’s part of the truth.”
“It’s a big part of it, but…” she shrugged. “Spence has been great, and Zander took care of me while Spence slept. It’s been surreal, and I have no idea what that might mean, but other than brushing my hair and feeding me ice chips, nothing’s happened.”
They talked for another twenty minutes — Felix telling her about the Friday the 13thfeeding frenzy the day before, with the flock dressed as Knights Templars, and the vampires as the King’s men. Rhea updated her on the Versailles Carnival preparations and asked if anyone had come down for her costume fitting.
“No, but Spence promised me I can go, even if I’m still weak. He says he’ll put me on a throne so I can watch, and still have a reason to get all dressed up.”
When they finally disconnected, she opened her messages to see who’d texted her, and was surprised to see it was from Chase.
“I hear the reports of your death have been greatly exaggerated.”
She laughed at his goofiness and responded. “Thankfully, yes. How are things in warm Anchorage?”
“Freezing, of course. There are other rumors flying around. Are you prisoner or guest of the Master?”
“Patient might be the more accurate term. I’m being treated as guest, but I’m not actually sure they’d have let me leave until they figured out who poisoned us. So possibly a little of both.”
She considered making a joke about Zander keeping her alive so her father wouldn’t kill him, but that would be avoiding the facts, and he deserved her honesty.
“You know my big secret, that I need both a Dom who won’t submit and yet respects my dominance, and a submissive who needs pain. Turns out, there’s one of each of those down here.”
“Yes, I suppose there is, and I’m delighted for you. I’m also beyond relieved to hear you are okay after being poisoned.”
They texted back and forth a few minutes before saying goodbye, and she was about to make her way back to the bed when Spence appeared in the doorway. “How do you feel?”
“Tired but good.” Emmy stood carefully, testing her legs. They held, but she was pretty shaky.
