Wiping a hand across my mouth, I rest both palms against the side of the sink, looking up at myself in the mirror before my eyes fill with tears.
This is definitely not a dream. I can clearly taste the bitter remnants of vomit in my mouth. The raw sting in my throat feels too real.
God, this is pathetic.
Get a hold of yourself.
Turning on the tap to rinse my mouth and splash water over my face, I freeze.
The tap keeps running. Warm and steady.
I’m staring up at my reflection, then at the stone basin beneath it. Why warm running water surprises me, I’m not sure. But this entire place looks like something out of one of my history books.
Running water.
Heat.
Running it again, just to be sure, but the burn on my thumb is sharp and immediate.
Where the hell am I?
A wave of exhaustion rattles through my body as I fight back a yawn. I glance over my shoulder at the bed. I don’t have any energy to untangle the impossible right now. Exhaustion wins in the end. My thoughts circle, but none of them land. Lying back on the comforter, I tuck my legs close and stare at the ceiling, my eyes damp with tears. It doesn’t take long for sleep to take me.
A sharp gasp tears from my throat, fingers clenched tight in the bedding beneath me. Disoriented and dazed, I blink my eyes open, taking in my surroundings.
I’m still here.
Whereverthe hellhereeven is.
Hearing a rustle on my left, I rotate my head toward the sound. It’s the knight, but this is the first time I’ve seen him without his helmet.
His dark hair is damp at the edges.
He looks… younger like this.
Maybe only a year older than me. He looks more human, in a way he didn’t before, with all his armour and metal.
He’s undeniably attractive.
I catch the faint crease between his eyebrows that looks like a permanent etch in his face: concentration, anger, power. He has the type of expression that belongs to men who have buried more than they have saved. I realise I’ve been staring for far too long and quickly avert my eyes.
“I brought you something to eat.” He places a tray of food on the chest at the end of the bed. I don’t respond. I just stare up at him, unsure of what to say. The room appears darker, the night sky glistening through the window to my right. The only light that illuminates the room is now from the side lamp next to the bed.
“Figured you’d be hungry. I don’t know what you like, so I just grabbed a bit of everything.” He gestures at the food before stepping away and taking a seat in the room's corner.
“Oh, um… thank you. That was nice of you.” Standing abruptly and brushing out the creases from where I was lying, I make my way over to the food.
He wasn’t lying.
He really grabbed a bit of everything.
And it’s all normal…
Soup, bread, potatoes, vegetables.
He watches me eat, never muttering a word. Cleaning his blade, keeping himself busy. Glancing at me now and again as if to check that I am, in fact, still here.
“Where am I?” I ask suddenly, breaking the silence.
