The guardian stared down at me and responded with one word. “Arcana.”
He walked in and quickly gave me a tour of the room. “This is your receiving room. Every day, meals will be brought to you by a member of the kitchen staff. Through there is your bedroom and dressing room. The wardrobe will have clothes for you, so you can change out of those disgusting rags. Through the other side is your bathing room. I highly suggest you take advantage of all the bathing oils available to wash that human stink from you—it is quite repulsive.Once the king and queen have reached a decision on what to do with you, someone will come to get you. Until then, I suggest you stay put.” He turned around and started to make his way out of the suite.
“So I’m being kept prisoner until they decide what to do with me?” I said as I turned to face the guardian.
“No. You are a guest here. What I said was that I suggest you stay put. Humans are very rarely ever here as guests. Your presence may disturb some members of the court. If you must leave, you will need to be escorted by the royal guardian posted to your door.”
If my eyes could have rolled any harder, they would have rolled all the way to the back of my head. “Sounds lovely. I feel so welcomed,” I responded, agitation and exhaustion equal parts fuelling me.
“It is irrelevant whether you feel welcomed or not. You are being given more privileges than your species deserves. I recommend you start feeling grateful and lose the sarcasm.” He smirked as he continued. “Your regular guardian will be here momentarily. Please direct any further complaints or feelings you may have to him.”
With that, the guardian took his leave, slamming the door behind him, and I was left to linger in my gilded cage.
I stared at the closed door. Reality was starting to sink in that my stay here was going to be several variations of unpleasant. I was tolerated, barely, just like I was back home. Was there any realm where I could be celebrated and appreciated for who I was and not seen as a constant pain in someone’s rear end? Currently at two and no luck, the odds didn’t look good for me.
The room smelled of fresh-cut lilacs, which made my “human stink” stand out all the more. I turned toward the mirror in the receiving room and took a look at myself. The guardian may have been extraordinarily rude, but he was right about one thing: I looked disgusting, and I felt it too. The stress and strain from running for my life had made itself evident on my face, in my clothes, and in the waythat I smelled. A bath was definitely first on my list of things to do. I made my way through the receiving room and into the main living space to find a table filled with all sorts of finger foods and beverages. My stomach growled uncontrollably—all right, maybe something to eat first, and then the bath.
Set on the table were plates of small pies, some savoury and some sweet, as well as fruit and vegetables, cookies, cheese, meats, small buns, and little jelly candies. I picked up one of the savoury pies and took a bite, immediately melting into one of the chairs beside the table. It was like nothing I had ever tasted—buttery crust, potatoes, leeks, carrots, and a bit of cheese. I knew magic had to be involved, because there was no way someone could make something that tasted this sinfully delicious. I shoved the rest of it into my mouth and washed it down with a glass of pink sweetened wine. I may be a prisoner, but at least I was going to be a well-fed prisoner.
Getting up from the chair, I grabbed the glass of wine, and I made my way to the washing room. As much as it pained me to walk away from the food, I needed to get cleaned up, and then I could spend the rest of my evening gorging myself on pies in bed.
The washing room was like something out of a dream. A large citrine claw-footed bathtub stood in the centre of the room, with ample space to accommodate two people comfortably. My mind drifted to Forrest and how much I wanted to share this with him. Would we ever get the opportunity to do so? My heart flinched at the thought. The vanity was also made out of a giant slab of citrine crystal, with a large mirror positioned on top. Laid out across the vanity were various bottles and small tubs. I walked over to inspect them—bathing oils and lotions with scents varying from citrus, vanilla, brown sugar, lilac, amber, and smoky musk.
I grabbed the bathing oil that smelled of citrus and placed it on the edge of the bathtub. I looked around, trying to figure out how I was supposed to fill up this gigantic tub on my own. I didn’t haveanywhere to heat water, and there was no piping coming in from outside to fill it with rainwater. I then noticed two knobs at the front. One had a red crystal in the centre, and the other had a blue crystal.
“There is no way,” I muttered as I turned the red crystal knob.
Water rushed out. I leaned down and placed my hand under the stream, feeling that it was already warm and getting warmer by the second. Letting out a delighted squeal, I quickly turned the blue crystal knob, trying to get the perfect temperature. I was thinking about all the ways this could be possible when the guardian’s condescending voice suddenly entered my mind.
“Arcana,” I sarcastically muttered, doing an awful impression of him.
Regardless of how it worked, this was the best thing I had encountered since entering this realm; the leek-and-potato pie was now a close second. I peeled off my dirty, sweat-stained clothing and eagerly got into the tub. Sliding further into the citrus-scented water, I let loose a breath that I felt I had been holding the entire time I had been here. I leaned my head back against the end of the tub, allowing myself this small moment of relaxation. The heat from the water was doing wonders to settle my nerves and relieve the tension I had been holding throughout my entire body. I knew that this moment would be short-lived, so I was going to enjoy every second of it.
After draining and refilling the tub twice—once because the water was filthy, and the second time just for fun—I got out and decided to get dressed. Wrapped in the largest, softest towel I had ever felt, I made my way over to the large mahogany wardrobe to inspect what type of clothing was deemed appropriate for this court. I found an array of dresses, all in magnificent jewel tones: emerald, ruby, sapphire, pearl, topaz, and of course, citrine. I reached in and pulled out the emerald dress. It was made of fabric so fine that I feltunworthy to touch it. I held it up to my body, facing the mirror inside the wardrobe door. It was beyond a doubt one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen or touched, but it wasn’t me. I was not fit to wear finery such as this. I placed the dress back, wishing I had packed a robe or something to lounge in. Within seconds a shimmery black robe appeared at the end of the row of dresses. I staggered back a few steps, not sure that what I had just seen had actually happened.
I stepped toward the wardrobe and said out loud, “I wish I had a short cotton sleeping slip in lilac.”
Moments later, a lilac sleeping slip appeared next to the black robe.
I pulled the slip off the hanger and stepped apprehensively into it. To my surprise, it fit me perfectly. My list of favourite things in this realm had grown by one: number one, hot running water; number two, magical wardrobe; and number three, leek-and-potato pie. After thinking up a few more wardrobe items, I made my way over to the table full of food and piled as much of it as I could onto a plate. I then clambered into the gigantic four-poster bed, settled in, and ate myself into a food-induced slumber.
Chapter 18
The air was bitingly cold. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting its silver glow over the quieted realm. Goosebumps exploded all over my body. I looked down to see the lilac sleeping slip barely covering my body, while a blackened forest floor lay beneath my bare feet.
When I stepped forward, the undergrowth snapped beneath my feet. I looked around, noticing that all the trees were charred and dead. The sky above was clear, and the stars shone brightly.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hide my exposed body from the whipping wind. Without warning, an obsidian mist crept in toward me. The darkened void suffocated all light in its path. An eerie sensation came over me. It felt like a calling that I could not ignore.
I moved my feet. They were heavy as I dragged them across the burnt forest floor, as if something was trying to keep me in place. Panic rose within me as the mist drew closer. The air became charged, almost electric. The hair on my body stood on end. Then the darkness receded, and the forest was once again bathed in moonlight.
I stepped forward to gain a better view of who was with me. Squelching sounds accompanied my every step. Looking down, I saw that my feet were now covered in a dark, viscous liquid. Heavy, warm water drops fell onto my shoulders and arms. The warm liquid started falling harder and faster. Accompanying it was a familiarmetallic smell. I placed my hands out to catch what was falling and saw dark red drops collecting in my palms. My body became wet and slick as the warm drops fell faster and harder.
Three beings materialized right in front of me out of the receding dark mist. Standing out in the middle was a tall, slender fae man with shaggy white hair, glowing grey eyes, and fitted, fine matte-black armour. On either side of him was a formidable-looking fae woman—one had rough, cropped black hair and was dressed in all-black leather, while the other had flowing silver locks and was clad in all-white leather. Looking at the two, I felt an unexpected sense of warmth and safety. The fae man, on the other hand, was dark, cold, and morose—the very picture of a tortured soul. I tried to speak, but no sound exited my mouth.
In unison, the fae women spoke in an eerie, monotonous tone. “Born of stardust and blackest night. Veiled in blood and shrouded by the void. She will bring death to what the light creates.”
As the words exited their mouths, the fae man appeared to struggle with himself. His eyes grew wild and took on a brighter glow. The sky above us turned as black as the Eternal Night, the dark mist swallowing the moon, the stars, and then all of us whole.
