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“What are you doing?” I asked in a frantic tone. I cleared my throat. No need to panic yet. It was just that the unknown was always somehow worse than anything else. I wanted to know what Reyna had in store for me.
Her maidens were speechless, exactly like the harpy had been. I half wondered if their silence was mandated, like the vines that directed my movements, or if their tongues had been removed altogether. Then I noticed a vine peeking out from the top of the first’s cloak collar, running up the side of her neck and disappearing into her hair.
Would that happen to me? Would these vines continue to grow until they consumed me?
A shiver rolled up my spine, and I did my best to erase the thought.
She’ll have a much worse demise planned for us.
Curse Ladon for not telling me what she had done to him. I could’ve been prepared for tonight. Would she torture me? Play mind games? Would I be forced back into the hedge maze, running from her hounds until my legs collapsed?
The two women had their hands on me once again. One was pulling at the sleeve of my shirt while the other unbuckled my pants. I tried to step back, but they loosened and sank to the floor. It was hard to move with them tangled around my ankles. She grabbed me around the calf and forced me to step out of them.
“Please,” I said. “What does she mean to do with me?”
The one kneeling before me looked up, and I noticed for the first time a scar running down the right side of her face. Her right iris was white and glassy and I was fairly certain she couldn’t see out of that eye, even though her pupil stayed fixed on my face.
She pointed to the bath.
“You want me to get in?”
She nodded.
Her features gave away nothing else. There was no fear. No anger. She was like a shadow of a human being. It made me pity her. I couldn’t help but wonder who she used to be.
My empathy for her made me more compliant. The other maiden had removed my blouse and bra. My underwear came off in a swift motion too. I tested the water with my toes first, and after finding it to be pleasantly warm, I finished walking down the steps and sat on a ledge beneath the water.
Now what?
Both of the maidens removed their cloaks, and I gasped. Their entire bodies were covered in vines. Black and so thick that I could hardly see a patch of skin.
They moved through the water with that same grace they’d had on land. The water seemed to part for them so they could gravitate toward me effortlessly. I straightened.
The one without the scar pulled me from the ledge and made a move to dunk my head. Despite the furious beating of my heart, I sank enough to wet my hair and then came back up.
They washed my hair and bathed me in soaps that smelled of vanilla and some flower I couldn’t put my finger on. They scrubbed my skin and rubbed my body with some creamy concoction. I gasped when the hair under my armpits and along my groin disappeared entirely.
Once they finished, they pulled me out of the water and dried me off with one of the lush towels. If I hadn’t been a hostage in enemy territory, it would’ve been a pleasant experience, but my nerves returned and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Why had they made me presentable?
I started to pick up my clothes, but the one-eyed maiden stopped me. She shook her head and held out a chain of gold. No, not one chain. Many chains linked together, drooping in half circles with rubies dangling on the ends.
“What is that?”
She motioned for me to turn around. My knees trembled as I obeyed her wishes. Her arm reached across my chest and she clipped something together behind the nape of my neck.
I looked down, and the sight horrified me. The chains fell over my chest while my bare skin peeked through. Even my nipples were only half-covered. My jaw dropped before I whipped around to face her. “This is what I’m wearing? This isn’t clothing. This jewelry hardly covers me. You can see”—I gulped—“everything.”
She only nodded. There was no sympathy in her eyes. I wanted to take back the pity I had for her earlier.
“No. I won’t do this.”
She held my gaze, and I jolted as the other maiden fastened a similar garment around my waist.
I closed my eyes and counted to ten before I looked down. A pathetic whimper escaped when I saw the chains falling around my hips, stopping well above my knees. From the breeze, I knew my ass was hardly covered either.
While I was still frozen in shock, they made quick work of my wild hair, slicking it back and pinning it with ease. When they were done primping me and preparing me, the iron door swung open again. Almost as if they shared some magical brain frequency with Reyna.
