Chapter Six
Florianwokewithastartinthesamedarknessinwhichhehadfallenasleep.Atfirsthethoughtasoundhadwokenhim,buttheroomwasperfectlysilent.Helaystillandquiet,listeningforalongmoment.Hehadnoideawhattimeitwas—whenthesunwassupposedtorise,orifitwouldeverevenbevisibleatall.Itfeltlikehe'dbeenasleepforawhile,buthecouldn'ttellexactlyhowlongithadbeen.Moreoutofhabitthanatruebeliefitwouldwork,hepickeduphisphone.Thebatteryhadlongsincedied,notthatitwouldhavehadanyservicehere,ofcourse.Withaquickpeekintothehallway,hecouldseethatonlyonesoftglobulefloatedneartheceilingtobathethecorridorinadimlight.
It must have still been nighttime. Did they sleep at night? What were their sleeping schedules like in such frequent darkness? Already he could tell his internal circadian rhythm was thrown off, and he resigned himself to feeling something like jet lag for the next few days.
Despite his suspicion that it was probably quite early in the morning, he felt fully awake, so he decided to try and figure out the bathroom and wash up if he could. Luckily, it didn't seem too foreign—he could recognize the sink, toilet, and tub without issue. The faucet handles were a bit different, and there was what looked like a lever to switch between hot water and cold. Or maybe the lever was to turn it on and off, and the handle was for temperature? It took some fiddling, but finally he figured it out and set the tub to fill with warm water as he undressed.
Florian caught sight of himself in the mirror and froze, startled. He hadn't seen himself yet, but like the others, his eyes were almost glowing in the faint moonlight that came through the window. The same warm amber as his father's eyes gleamed back at him from the mirror—and as he looked closer, he could see his face was different too: a little more angular in the same way Jerah's had become when they crossed over into the Veil. Had he looked like this the whole time? Neither Jerah nor Kade had said anything, but he supposed it probably seemed normal to them.
He spent a long while inspecting his face in the mirror over the sink, and when he finally pulled away to turn off the water, he was met with another surprise. His chest, though still flat, had no scars. When he had… transformed, when they first arrived, his scars must have gone with the shifting skin. He blinked in surprise at the smooth surface, feeling at first startled, then pleased, then conflicted all in quick succession. He had never been embarrassed about his scars, though he didn't exactly miss them either. It was a strange feeling, almost bittersweet somehow.
Mostly, he thought, he barely looked like himself. It was unsettling, so he furrowed his brows in concentration and watched in fascination as the tissue seemed to ripple and shift. Two thin scars spread across his chest, and his face shifted to look more familiar, a subtle softening of his nose and chin that made him feel more himself. Nothing could be done about the gleaming eyes, it seemed, but that seemed like a fun, harmless effect so far.
Hesitating, he glanced down between his legs. That had never really bothered him either, yet now he could change it at will... Butthatseemed like a lot to process first thing in the morning, so he decided to bathe first and see what he could do later.
“One step at a time,” he muttered to himself, as he got into the tub and immediately forgot about anything other than the comforting warm water that washed away the previous day. The tub was deep, and long enough for him to stretch his legs and submerge himself nearly to his shoulders. He laid luxuriating in it until he had nearly fallen back asleep, and the water grew tepid.
Once it became uncomfortably cool, Florian roused enough to let the water drain, while running the warm tap again to quickly rinse his hair and scrub his body. A few different jars and bottles had been set up along the edge of the tub, and though he could not quite figure out what some of them were, the bar of soap seemed straightforward enough.
Finally, wrapped in a thick, fluffy towel, he returned to the bed and laid back down, feeling sleepy once again.
He didn't quite fall back asleep, dozing on and off for a little while, until a sharp knock at the door startled him to his feet.
“Coming!” he exclaimed, pulling the towel up and around his waist, as he reached for the doorknob with the other hand.
It hadn't occurred to him that it might be Kade knocking on his door; if it had, he wouldn't have opened it in only a towel. But itwasKade standing in the doorway, and he had to stop himself from immediately slamming it closed in his face out of panic.
“Uh, hi,” he stammered, feeling his face burn, but doing his best to ignore it. Reflexively his hand tightened around the towel, pressing it more firmly against his skin. To his credit, Kade hesitated for only a split second, his eyes politely locked on a point over Florian's shoulder.
“Jerah just wanted me to tell you breakfast is in thirty minutes,” he said coolly, pausing for a moment before adding, “Sorry... I didn't realize you were bathing.”
“Um, that's okay,” he said, looking away. Kade turned to go when he blurted out, “I, um, I'm not sure how to get to the dining hall from here. Could you…” He trailed off as Kade glanced over his shoulder at him, meeting his eyes.
“Sure,” Kade replied after a beat of consideration. “I'll come get you.”
“Thanks,” Florian muttered, and before he could say anything else, he closed the door with a bit more force than might have been warranted. He stood there for a long moment and waited for the burning in his face to recede, before hearing the sound of Kade's footsteps echoing down the stone hallway.
When he finally felt like he could move again, he dressed quickly, fussing over his messy hair in front of the mirror for a long while. He hadn't thought to bring anything like gel or pomade with him, and nothing in the bathroom seemed like the equivalent. Although, he thought, could he change his hair that easily too? He glared at his hair in the mirror, willing it to lay the way he styled it. He watched as the texture changed slightly; his subtle waves became a bit more pronounced, still pointing in every direction instead of being pushed neatly to one side. With a sigh, he wet his hands and raked them through to manage the worst of it, but eventually resigned himself to having messy hair until he could find something to help tame it.
Somehow, he thought, his plain t-shirt and skinny jeans probably weren't exactly the height of fashion in the Veil. He had been distracted, but thinking back to when Kade had been at the door, he had seemed to be wearing something more tunic-like—loose and long-sleeved in a light, muted green. Florian wondered briefly if he could get some clothes that might fit in better, then he reminded himself in frustration that he wouldn't be staying long enough for it to matter. Though maybe he might like to come back to visit sometime.
He must have spent more time worrying over his hair than he thought because another knock was at the door now: three sharp knocks, the same as before. This time he took a steadying breath—not like he's the only hot guy you've ever had to be around, Florian, chill out—and opened the door. Kade was standing there exactly as before, his expression as politely disinterested as it always was.
“This way,” he said, gesturing for Florian to follow as he closed the door behind him. They walked in silence through a few corridors and down a staircase, emerging in the same dining hall where Jerah and Tatiana were already sitting.
“Good morning!” Jerah chirped as he caught sight of them, echoed more quietly by Tatiana sitting across from him. “Hope you slept well.”
“I think so,” Florian said, nodding. “I think I woke up really early, but... My phone stopped working so I wasn't sure what time it was.”
“It can be a little disorienting,” Jerah said, nodding. “I'll make sure someone brings up a clock for you if there wasn't one already in your room. Ready to check out the rest of the castle today?”
“Sure,” Florian replied, sitting down next to him. Kade sat down on the opposite side of the table across from Tatiana, and Florian let his eyes linger for only a moment before turning his attention to the food set out in front of them. As they ate, Jerah chattered on about the different parts of the castle that they would visit, though Florian didn't retain much of what was said. While the food was mostly unfamiliar, it wasn't bad; and to his immense relief they did seem to have coffee, which he gladly drank.
“Ready?” Jerah asked the moment he was done eating, looking eagerly at Florian. “You can bring the coffee with you. Let's go!”
“Ah, sure,” Florian replied, standing up. On the other side of Jerah, Tatiana gave an indulgent laugh and waved them away.
“Have fun,” she said. To Florian's dismay, Kade also moved like he was about to stand.
