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“You’re the one that named DaiSzek when he was a puppy. DaiSzek was a warrior king in one of your favorite books Jack used to read you. The story of the fae king DaiSzek, and his elven queen Knightingale that gave their lives to end a great war thousands of years ago.” Dessin studies my wet, sobbing expression as he’s waiting for me to remember.
I shake my head. “I don’t remember that.”
“I know.” He smiles sadly.
“I knew DaiSzek as a puppy?”
He nods.
That both warms and breaks my heart at the same time. I release my hold on his strong arms. “I suppose you aren’t going to tell me more than that.”
He sighs, releasing his hold on my face. “I didn’t tell you about Aurick because it opens up many questions I can’t answer.”
I blink away the tears, wiping the stragglers away with my sleeve. It comes back in a devastating wave, the sickening punch in the gut as I saw Aurick Demechnef walk into that room. As I watched Dessin wait for my reaction. I hate feeling this way.
“I see.” My feet begin moving to the washroom. “I’m going to take a bath. Please don’t wait up for me.”
After closing the washroom door, I twist the faucet to gush scalding hot water. Steam fills the small room, fogging up the mirror and moistening my skin before I can step inside the large copper tub.
The lady-doll regimen supplies are set out on the vanity. Jars of lavender cream, a pitcher of milk, a bowl and spool of honey, glass servings of dried herbs, and salts. I’m a moving zombie as I fill the tub with everything I’ve grown familiar with. Like I’m still under Aurick’s roof, because I am. His property. Indebted to his hospitality. Maybe I am weak and helpless. That’s why Dessin never tells me anything. That’s why I need the assistance of a man to get me a job at the asylum, to feed and clothe me.
I lather my dirty hair in oil, digging it into my scalp until my fingers are sore. And as I pick one leg up, placing it into the hot bath, I watch more tears fall into the milky, sweet-scented water.
I’ll pull myself together. I won’t let them see how this has ripped my heart out. I’ll clean myself up, scrub the dirt and devastation from my skin, and wash away the stained trail of tears from my puffy eyes and cheeks.
I’ll be better.
I’ll be stronger.
If not for myself, then for DaiSzek. The friend I’ve apparently known since he was a pup. Sinking into the cozy tub, I dunk my head in, wetting my hair.
I’ll be better.
I’ll be stronger.
As I turn off the faucet with my foot, I close my eyes, resting my head against the edge of the tub, chanting the words in my head.Better. Stronger.I don’t care how long I have to train. I don’t care if they abuse me, strip me of my humanity, or work my body into the ground. I have to be stronger. Have to be better.
And I float away in the water, sinking into a dreamless sleep.
I’m yanked from the darkness, dragged from silent peace. Water rushes over my face, and I gasp at the sudden cold burst of air.
“There you are.” A deep voice booms over the rushing water. Hands grip my arms, pulling until I’m propped upright in the tub. “Breathe, little siren.” An accent, ancient and foreign. Close to what the Stormsages sounded like.
I cough at the water in my nose draining down my throat.
“What happened?”
“You fell asleep in the tub,” the man says, voice smooth like a warm ocean breeze.
I squeeze my eyes closed, wiping them of the milky water.
When I open them, I see Dessin kneeling to my left, hands still on my arms. But the expression is blank with a small splash of curiosity. He looks down at me like I’m a small, interesting human…
“Who are you?” I ask.
The alter lets go of my arms, letting them rest on the tub’s edge. “We met once in the asylum.”
“We did?”
