Page 25 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

Relieved to be alone, I open my eyes to find Nyx is standing next to the bed looking down at me. Relief crosses his face, and he moves to sit next to me on the bed. I shrink away from him, afraid for a moment of what he might do.

“Don’t touch me,” I warn him.

His face quickly goes from relief to something different. Maybe sadness or pain. I’m not sure.

“I’d never harm you,” he says softly.

“Forgive me, but I’ve been told that before, and that very same person did harm me.”

“You mean Samael?”

“No.” I don’t give further explanation, and he just looks at me, studying me.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” I lie. I feel awful. My body is sore, and I feel broken. I feel hollow inside, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel whole again.

“Would you eat something with me? Please?”

I am hungry, and I don’t want to lie here feeling self-conscious under his gaze any longer.

“If you give me something to wear, then I could eat something.”

He smiles and nods before going out of the room. He returns and places some clothes on the end of the bed.

“I’m not sure what you’d like to wear, but I assume you want something soft and comfortable, so I brought a few options. I’ll leave you to change and return with some dinner in a few minutes.” He smiles softly, nodding his head in assurance. I nod back once to acknowledge him. He steps out into the hallway and closes the door behind him.

I ease out of bed to find he did leave me an array of choices. There’s a light-pink linen gown and a soft white floor-length chemise. I choose to slip on black silk pants with a black silk top. They’re slightly baggy but nonetheless comfortable. I’m surprised he gave me options and didn’t just leave out some revealing outfit for me to wear so he could gawk at me.

I wander into the bathroom to wash my hands, and I catch my reflection in the mirror. My hair is a tangled mess falling over my shoulders, but my face is not as bad as I thought it’d be. They said I was asleep for three days. There’s no way I could’ve healed that quickly. I only have the light remnants of a black eye. I quickly look down at my chest where the snake bit me, and all I see are two little white dots. There are a few white splotches across my stomach as well from the candle, but they don’t hurt. My ribs hurt, but the bruises on my side are light and faded. Flora, whoever she is, really must be a gifted healer. I’m grateful for that. I hear the bedroom door open and hurry out of the bathroom.

“Everything alright?” Nyx looks me up and down as if expecting to find me injured again.

“Yes, I think so,” I say back quietly.

“Please come sit,” he says while placing a large tray on the table and pulling a leather seat out for me. I sit in it, and he scoots me in before taking the seat across from me.

“Where’s Chepi?” I ask, slightly alarmed.

“He’s okay. He’s been exploring the castle and making friends when he’s not sleeping next to you.”

I immediately relax a bit.

“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I brought a little bit of everything I could find at this hour.” He begins lifting lids off of plates, revealing a variety of dishes. “This here is silver bisque; it’s a potato leek soup with mushrooms and cream. Very good and not too rich. I like to dip these honey-coated rolls in it.” He points to another dish full of thin slices of white fish. “This is smoked cloud pepper fish. I like to spread a little bit of the creamed cheese on a roll with a piece of the smoked fish. It’s quiet good.” He points to the last dish on the table, a plate of round, white balls. “These are called travelers delights. They’re basically sweet cookies rolled in sugar and drizzled with honey.”

“Thank you.” I take a honey roll and begin dipping pieces into the silver bisque like he suggested. My stomach is in knots, but even though I feel hungry I just can’t bring myself to eat much. The food does taste delicious though. The soup is creamy and seasoned perfectly. The rolls are moist and fluffy with just a hint of sweetness to them.

“Where are we?” I probably should’ve asked that sooner, but my mind is still foggy.

“We’re in my home. The Noble Vale of Nighthold,” he says casually.

“I’m in the Faery Realm?”

“Yes, you’re in the Faery Realm.”

“And are you a Faery?” I almost don’t believe it's possible. I’ve never met a Faery before, but I always thought they were evil and had a mouth full of sharp teeth.

“Yes, I am Fae, among other things. Are you alright?” he asked softly, lifting a hand to touch mine. I pull my hand back quickly, placing it in my lap.