“Also, beginning this morning, after breakfast period, will be pre-crossing medical examinations. These appointments will span over the next four days. When you return from breakfast period, you will find your nominated appointment time on your desk. Please ensure you are prepared for your medical as your allocated time is non-negotiable and will run on time. Thank you.”
I scoff and turn on the tap. A medical? What, did the fae want to know if we had an iron deficiency? Were our organs strong and working to the best capabilities? Were we fertile?
The last thought made me sick to my stomach. I don’t know where the thought came from, but itwasonly women that they wanted. It would make sense. They wanted playthings, and women always seemed to be deemed the weaker sex.Utter bullshit. I wondered if the fae thought of their females as weak.
Or perhaps they wanted to ensure we weren’t fertile. Gods, my stomach squirmed at the thought. Were we going to be made infertile? Surely the fae wouldn’t want half-breed spawn running around their land.
I needed to stop thinking about the ifs. There were too many unknown variables, and plaguing myself over them was a waste of energy.
I wash thoroughly, scrubbing every patch of skin from behind my ears to the betweenness of my toes. It’s become somewhat of a new compulsiveness over the last few days. Not that I didn’t wash myselfproperly before, but when you had days filled with nothing to look forward to, showering was a leisure that may as well be performed to its best.
After, I dry and change quickly, then sit on the end of my bed, jiggling my knees up and down in rapid succession, as if that could get me out of here any faster. Gods damn, I couldn’t wait to get out of this awful little room. Hell, the fae could take me now if it meant leaving.
The sound of my door unlocking has me springing to my feet and darting to the door. I wrench it open and take a deep breath. It’s not freedom, exactly, but it’s as close as I was going to get.
Young women fill the hallway; most step warily from their rooms, eyes darting about.
“This way to the dining hall!”
I roll my eyes as the breaking voice of ol’ Pimpleton calls from further down the hall. I ignore him as I scout the unfamiliar faces until I spy one I know.
“Akari!” I call, skipping past the wide-eyed strangers who step out of my path as if I’m a virus they don’t want to catch. I guess my cheeriness was odd in the face of our situation. But I was too excited about finally getting out of the room to give a shit.
“Delta! I can’t believe they kept us locked up for so long,” Akari sighs as I step up to her side and hook my elbow through hers.
I groan. “Gods, it was the worst! Just send me to Faerie now!”
Akari laughs, and even more distance develops between us and the other Chosen. I couldn’t care less. I had no intention of making any more friends. It would be hard enough losing Akari, Jabira, and Jasmin whenwe crossed. Assuming we were to be separated. But perhaps our strength was in numbers…
The line at the buffet is tediously long now that our floor is fully populated.
“Akari! Delta! Over here!”
Jabira and Jasmin are near the front, and they wave us over. Akari blushes and keeps her eyes trained on the floor as we receive more than a few scoffs and irritated looks.
I can’t help but grin and blow a kiss to one especially vocal girl. She couldn’t be over 21, and she was as perfect as a Barbie Doll—plastic and fake. She scoffs and flips her perfectly platinum hair over her shoulder. I snort. She had no hope of maintaining it in the Hotel, let alone Faerie.
“Jabira! Jasmin!” I say as we reach them. Jabira instantly scoops me into an embrace I could only describe as warm and… motherly? Shit, it had been so long since my mother had disappeared, I had forgotten how a genuine hug could feel from a maternal figure. “How have you both been holding up? You know, with the whole lockdown bullshit.”
Jasmin seems to posture herself to become as small as possible, with her shoulders hunched inwards and her arms folded around her front. She bites her lip, and her eyes dart nervously around the room. Isolation didnotagree with her.
Jabira pops her arm around Jasmin’s shoulders as if she, too, has sensed her withdrawal and anxiousness.
“It was certainly an experience I do not wish to revisit anytime soon,” she says, pulling Jasmin close.
“Yeah,” Jasmin says hollowly. “It’s going to be hard heading back to that…” she stutters. “Thatcellafter breakfast.”
“I think I’ve readHow to Distinguish Human from Faeat least a hundred times over,” Akari adds with a shudder.
“Same!” I laugh. “You guys should try out a mini-exercise class. I’ll even give you all a program.” I wink.
“Exercise?” Jasmin looks like she’s never even heard the word before. “I mean… I suppose it could fill the time…” she trails off, and I know for sure she won’t even consider it.
Akari, however, looks thoughtful.
“We might need stamina and muscle in Faerie,” she says. “Do you think it’s too late for me to start?”
“It’s never too late to start something new,” I smile.
