“A bargain will be struck; you will stay in the palace as a servant in exchange for your training. If you had reached a normal human community instead of Crysia, you would have done the same thing. Bartered shelter in exchange for work. This is no different. You will be given clothes, shelter, and food. The people of the courts won’t bother you because most of them wouldn’t look down to a servant unless something was needed.” She made me another cup of tea and handed it over gently.
I was not a drinker of spirits and alcohol like some were back where I used to live, but after the day I’d had, I wished I could drink something a little stronger than tea.
“I still don’t think I can do this, but I will do what I can to save Tor,” I vowed, even if he was to marry another woman if I somehow succeeded in breaking that onyx tomb holding the princess inside.
I laughed to myself. Memories started to make sense. He was promised to another. No wonder he never wanted to take our relationship further than kissing.
Except . . . where did this leave our love? Would I be able to save him, then watch him be with someone else?
“Drink the tea dear, and when you wake, it will be a new day with the world at your feet.”
I’d already started drinking, so by the time her words registered in my head, I was already falling asleep. My eyelids lost their battle to stay open, and the cup clattered to the ground as I slept.
Chapter Eleven
I slept long and deep. My muscles were tight, as I sat up in the unfamiliar room. The soreness I’d expected from the journey was gone, and for once, I felt rested.
What the hell was in the tea?
I looked at my surroundings. I’d been moved from beside Celestine’s fire and had no idea who did it or what happened. I scanned my body and clothes for any signs of hostility but was met with the same dirty set of cotton and skin I had before. I signed in relief.
One month.
Celestine said I had one month to gather my strength, train, and then I was to rescue Tor, which meant he was alive. Not wanting to waste any more time, I hopped off the bed, stronger and ready to do what I had to do. My stomach rumbled, and I realized I needed food and had to clean up before I left this barren room.
It was small. There was enough space for a single sleeper bed, a table next to it with a cup of what looked to be water. Then across the stone floor was a fireplace with dancing flames giving off heat and a stone-carved circle that appeared to be a tub and toilet next to it. This was better than the ground and leaves I’d been dealing with for weeks to relieve myself. There were buckets of water near the fire, so hopefully I had hot water, though I didn’t let myself become too attached to the idea of a hot bath.
I rushed to the tub, hoping I would have enough time to clean myself thoroughly, since it had been a while since I’d washed myself in anything other than a river.
The water was lukewarm but better than nothing. Wasting no time, I undressed, got into the tub and threw the smaller buckets of water on my head. Raised flesh from the change in temperature made me shiver for only a moment before I grabbed a rag and what I hoped was soap from the side of the tub. With every scrub of the rag on my skin, I cleaned off every touch of the Dramens and the dry air from the desert. Regretfully, I also cleaned off Tor’s touch.
A bang on the solid door made me jump and clear my thoughts away from Tor.
“Be out this door in five minutes.” A man’s bellow echoed inside the room.
I finished scrubbing my face and rinsed my hair before climbing out of the tub to dry myself. There was a three-foot-wide, six-foot-tall wardrobe that I hoped held my salvation. My fingers gripped the wood. It wasn’t carved or held any extra embellishments like I’d seen everywhere else. The inside did have a towel sitting on a little shelf and four unusual outfits.
There was another bang on the door, signaling the man’s impatience. Whoever he was, he could wait a few more seconds for me to get dressed. I dried off as quickly as I could and grabbed the first thing I saw on a hanger. The new clothes were simple and soft. A long-sleeved green dress slit at the hips became one piece of material in the front and back. I grabbed some pants, since my thighs would be exposed in the dress. They were snug against my legs like leggings but did not have as much stretch to them. I tugged on the black slippers from the bottom of the wardrobe. I wrapped a scarf-like belt around my waist to keep everything together instead of looking like I had a blanket simply thrown over me. There was no mirror to check how I looked, so I hoped my attire was presentable. My skin was clean and my hair would air-dry as the day went on.
I pulled the door open and hurried out, only to collide with a hard, muscular chest covered in a black shirt. My feet stumbled back slightly as my gaze lifted from the muscular torso, up a tanned corded neck, then up past a sharp clean-shaven jaw, and finally landing on scars. It was the Fae who had sneered at me while standing next to Queen Olyndria yesterday.
“Took you long enough,” he barked. His icy-blue eyes narrowed before he turned and walked down the hall. I closed my door and hustled the few feet after him.
“I hate to sound cliché here, but who are you and where are we going?” I chased after him, my tired legs having trouble keeping up with his long, confident stride.
He huffed without a backward glance or actual words.
“I assume Celestine told someone what’s going on before she drugged me to sleep?” The halls we walked through were quiet. I tried to take in as much as I could while making sure I didn’t get lost. However, the Fae male was on a mission to get me somewhere and he wasn’t dallying.
There was no huff this time or any sound from his large body.
Sparing the man a second glance, I decided he had to be some sort of warrior or fighter. His body was all muscle beneath his simple clothes, with a sword attached to his hip. His black hair was cut short but not too short. There was something about him. He was stoic, and his sneer was the only part of his face I would consider ugly.
We walked through the empty throne room. Our footsteps echoed around the white columns. The crystal tree blew in some unknown wind I couldn’t feel. The rainbows once again danced across the ground and walls from the sunlight reflected through the facets.
There were two heavily armored guards standing by a solid, arched wooden door with no carvings on it. They nodded as soon as they saw the man leading me in their direction and stepped aside, opening the door as they did.
The man walked into the room and abruptly turned on his heel to face me, his face menacing and angry. He radiated hatred, which I hadn’t earned. Moments ago, I had thought he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, even with the three scars running down his face, marring his skin. But this attitude made him ugly.
“I’m gonna tell you this now, and then there will be no more need for talking beyond you doing as I say, when I say it. My name is Rune, and I’m going to be training you. I don’t give two damns about you, where you come from, or what great love you have for my brother. Celestine is a hag who likes to meddle. The only reason I am doing this is for her.” His long, callused finger pointed toward an onyx tomb.
The onyx tomb. The real-life scene from Tor’s stories. I remembered all those nights that I dreamt of a princess asleep in the dark crystal, waiting to be released.
“Celestine says that you are the one to free her. Make no mistake. We will not be friends. You will hate me as time goes on, but you will become stronger and you will save her.”