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Groaning, I rolled onto my back and sank into a soft mattress. A way too soft mattress that made me feel like I was lying on a big white, puffy cloud. Not the firm, thin one I slept on at the gym.
Several soft gasps caught my attention, and my eyes fluttered open.
Panic clawed at my chest as I took in my surroundings. An intricate chandelier made of vines and flowers of various pinks, blues, purples, and yellows hung over my head. Each flower looked different from anything I’d ever seen, the delicate bulbs and vibrant colors emanating warmth. The scene could have been part of a strange dream, except my head pounded as if it were splitting in two.
More disconcerting were the three gorgeous women hovering over me. They didn’t budge, seeming unashamed of getting caught staring. That made my skin crawl even more.
“If I wasn’t seeing her with my own two eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.” The woman to my right, whose long, dark, silky hair had the faintest hint of purple in it, shook her head. Her violet eyes, enhanced by her glowing bronze skin, sparkled. However, it wasn’t her beauty that struck me. It was the way the tips of her ears pointed out from under her hair.
Something poked my side, and I flinched and kicked at the person to my left.
Large sky-blue eyes widened as the second woman moved back a few steps, and my leg caught air. Her caramel-blonde hair shifted around her like a cape then settled perfectly behind her back, not a strand hanging over the front of her cobalt dress. “What was that for?”
“Cara, maybe humans don’t like to be touched,” a hunter-green-haired woman with golden eyes answered, standing beside the dark-haired one. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and adjusted her vine headband. Her olive skin was flawless, and her cheeks held a faint rose color that anyone would envy. Her green strapless dress was made of leaves as if she were part of the woods.
They all had pointed ears. This had to be a dream. No one could be this gorgeous or have ears like theirs.
I sat up, and the world spun. I wasn’t sure if the sensation came from my head or the view I had of the room. Large white columns rose at the end of the bed, creating an opening to a larger room with a high ceiling, the arched glass of the windows similar to the ones in the Fairy Bar back in Vegas. Two massive lilac-colored couches sat side by side across from the windows, and behind them stood two doors about twenty feet apart.
Had Ember set this up?
I wouldn’t be fooled again. “I don’t like people I don’t know touching me.” At least I could count on my mouth running without thought, like usual.
“What?” The dark-haired girl clutched her chest. “You don’t know me? I’m Lilidh. I’ve worked for you for the past hundred complete cycles.”
I snorted and promptly thought my head might implode. This had to be Ember’s doing. She was getting me back for cutting the toes out of her socks while she was showering at the gym. Who knew how much she’d fucking saved to get even with me for the odd pranks I’d played on her over the years. She was vicious like that. “Yeah, and I’m, what? A hundred and fifty years old?”
“Don’t be so chilly.” Lilidh laughed, the noise sounding like bells. “You’re only one hundred and five full cycles.”
I wasn’t sure what perplexed me more: her telling me I was over a hundred years old or what the hell chilly meant. I decided to focus on the latter since I was certain I was twenty-three. I could show them my birth certificate to prove it. “Chilly? Do you mean silly? And let’s count years instead of cycles.”
“Silly?” Her brows furrowed. “What’s that? I was saying you’re using cold humor like the Winter fae do. A full summer and winter season is one cycle. What do you mean by years?”
“Fae?” My high-pitched voice made my head throb. At least, that explained why they’d put on pointy ears. “Let me guess, you’re Summer or Spring fae.”
“Enid, something is wrong with her.” Cara bent down and examined my face, her nose wrinkling. “Beyond smelling worse than rotting bark.”
“She was drugged.” Cara pursed her lips. “Maybe he gave her too high a dose.”
That was enough to drive me out of bed. I opted to get out on Lilidh and Enid’s side, not trusting Cara after she’d poked me. The green sheets I lay under tangled around my legs and nearly toppled me onto the floor.
Lilidh caught me and gagged, likely from the smell, while tossing me back onto the bed.
I bounced, the impact painless except for the jarring of my head.
I had to get out of here, joke or not. Drugging someone was taking things too far.
Memories of last night fluttered through my head, including the guy. He must have spiked my drink, and that’s why he’d kept putting his hands into his pockets. The drink had been strong. Why hadn’t I considered that before I’d taken it back and downed the rest of it?
Getting back up, Enid sighed and raised a hand, palm facing me.
I lifted my chin. “Do it. Hit me.” That sort of pain I could handle. It was being unconscious and not knowing what they’d done to me that had taken the joke over the top.
Suddenly, something slithered over my arms and legs, although none of the women had moved toward me. My throat hurt, and I forgot to breathe, fear freezing me in place. I looked at my arms, only to find vines had snaked from the ivy growing on the wall to bind my forearms and ankles, anchoring me to the bed. A fucking plant was holding me captive.
“Don’t panic.” Enid rolled her eyes. “Once you calm down, I’ll allow the vines to release you.”
Cara bit her bottom, full pink lip. “Alina would never have let you hold her down like that.”
