AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Perhaps they were right to be afraid of me.
Because the way I felt right now…I didn’t think this cursed place deserved to exist.
* * *
“Get up, you worthless slugs.”
That sounded like the Mistress.I kept my eyes closed; I had to be dreaming.
I rubbed the silky sheets between my fingers, drew a breath of rarified mountain air. No, not a dream. That really was the Mistress’s demanding voice, the same one I’d heard every day of my life.
“I know you’re both awake.” The Mistress hissed. “Now get up. If you think your lives are any different here in Caladrius, you are sadly mistaken.”
“Make it stop.” Ember mumbled, pulling a pillow over her head. “I could sleep for days. Weeks.”
There was a sharp crack, a squeal, and I surged to my feet, fumbling for my power, cursing the iron collar around my throat. The Mistress smiled fiendishly, while Ember rubbed the bright red handprint on her thigh, tears gleaming in her eyes.
“There. You’re awake.” She nodded toward a half open door. “Get cleaned up, you stink. There’re dresses on the table, shoes on the floor. Brush your hair and make yourselves presentable, the king wants to inspect his…guests.” Her lip lifted in a sneer, while I studied those pointed teeth that had torn the mercenary’s flesh asunder like an animal.
There would be a day I’d make her pay for that.
There’d be a day I’d make her pay for a lot of things.
“We’ll be ready in time, Mistress. We will not disappoint.” I ducked my head with practiced ease, closing my hands into trembling fists. “Though we are both starving.”
“Foods on the table. I’ll be back in an hour to escort you to the throne room. Do not disgrace me.”
The second she was gone, I handed Ember a hunk of bread, then pulled her toward the bathing room, the stone floor cold beneath my bare feet. “We play her game, long enough to figure out how to get out of here. I’ve seen maps of Caladrius. This is a vast realm, far bigger than Varitus. We can figure out how to blend in, or find our way back through the wall.”
“Go look in the mirror, Anaria.” Ember nodded to the one hanging on the far wall. “Look and see before you suggest blending in anywhere.”
Oh gods. I couldn’t stop the fear from taking me over. Couldn’t stop myself from shaking, the weak, helpless feeling that made me want to turn and run.
Every step was torture, every step brought me closer to a truth I was not ready to face. Didn’twantto face. I stared down at my filthy feet until I found the courage to raise my eyes.
What was reflected…my body shook in violent disbelief.
I’d disappeared, somewhere between Varitus and Caladrius.
There was nothing left of my old self in the cold-eyed female staring back at me, with her pure white hair and her lean, oval face that was my own—and yet not. Gone were my freckles, my soft, plump cheeks.
My body was curved, yet harder, leaner.
Pointed ears stuck out from the thick sheath of silvery hair, my skin was suffused with a faint, ethereal glow even the iron collar couldn’t dampen.
My eyes were the only thing about me that survived the transformation untouched, still an odd bottle green, glittering strangely, like jewels set in a too-pale face.
Pain sluiced through me, followed by horror. There was nothing human left in me.
I was High Fae.
“This happened when I passed between realms?” I whispered, Ember limping up beside me. “Why…why didn’t you change, too?”
“I do not know.” Ember shook her head, her hair puffed out in a dark halo around her face. “You can’t pass for anything but Fae, Anaria. Wandering around Caladrius…I can pass for regular folk, but you…wecan’t blend in. And we’ll never make it back to Varitus.”
“Then we get cleaned up and meet the king.” I couldn’t stop staring at the reflected stranger. “Nothing has changed, Em. We play their games until we figure out how to escape. Even if we have to hang on until everyone forgets about us.”
“No one will forget about us.” She limped over and picked up one of the dresses. Even from here I saw the glint of gold thread woven into the cloth, the sparkle of jewels in the sumptuous skirting. “They went a lot of trouble to bring us here.Andyou killed a hundred of the Fae King’s guards.”
