“I’ll take some answers,” I braved saying, a moment of lucidity coming over me in the absence of his massage.
“I’m not sure I can give you many.” As if he heard my voice shifting from its placated state, his hands returned to my sensitive scalp. Fingers traced their way to my temples before brushing back and down. His nails scratched tenderly over my neck. There was no way this was necessary to the process. My breath steadied, and I allowed myself to close my eyes for a moment. It was a nice break from the pain that occupied all my new memories. Hell, it was justnice. Although I felt a small ounce of shame for not keeping my guard up, the guilt was subtle enough as my thoughts turned mostly quiet. He didn’t have to know how much I was getting out of this, and it wasn’t hurting anybody. Like I said—it’s not sex.
“Do you know what happened to me? Where was I?”
He was silent for another long moment before taking a deep breath. “You were lying face down on the gravel of a forest road. I don’t know where you came from; the region is a peninsula, and I haven’t been past where I found you. I turned around and had the Silvates hurry us back to get you to safety. The wildernesses of Trebianna are unforgiving.”
Nude, bloody, and face buried in mud. What a visual. “Thanks for picking me up.” It felt like something I should say, despite our tumultuous day together. At least I wasn’t in the digestive tract of an eldritch horror.
“I wouldn’t have left you there,” he said solemnly. I felt his body adjust behind me, and his tone became more matter-of-fact. “I’m all finished here. Let it sit for a few minutes before you rinse it out. Hopefully that’ll be enough to help you blend in.” I heard him wipe his hands on something, presumably the blanket we sat on.
Still in a reluctantly satiated state, I bowed my heavy head to my chest. “Got it.”
“I’ll bring you some food and water while you wait. We need to get your strength back.” He stood to his feet. Awhoooooshsounded to my left as the fire flared back to life where the pile of lukewarm embers and charred logs had been. He walked off, the sound of opening cabinets in the kitchen promptly following.
“I have plenty of strength,”I grumbled to myself, licking my finger, dipping it in the ash of the fireplace, and scrubbing it into my eyebrows. Of course Graysen wouldn’t think about matching them to my hair.Men.
My initial impression of the living room still stood—cozy despite the neglect. A little cleaning, and I was sure thisspace would feel like a grandparent’s cabin. Old-fashioned, but timeless. Wood, brick, and polished metals would never go out of style. The more modern features, like the granite countertops in the kitchen, felt as though somebody was trying to add their personal touches to the space. The off-brown tones were complementary to the more natural elements, making nothing seem out of place despite the presumed renovations.
I caught a peek at my reflection in the golden rim of the grandfather clock. I was expecting my hair to appear black as coal, but instead it read as warm gray. I was instantly relieved it wasn’t too dark—I didn’t want my features to be overpowered. After all, I was just getting to know them.
Faeryn
Voices whispered in the distance as I slept on the couch.
“Damn, Graysen. You were serious.”
“Of course.”
“Does she know?”
“No, nor do I plan to inform her.”
“…You have got to be kidding…”
“I’m serious.And if you tell her I will burn you to a fucking crisp.”
Embers glowed in the fireplace before me as I woke from another night of disorienting hallucinations that felt too real to shake. Once again, my dreams had been occupied by blinding white light and a maternal voice beckoning me. I yearned for the sound of it. My body craved comfort from the unknown woman. Discordant with that desire, a chill ran up my spine at the memory of the searing heat that swelled inside of my veins. It was all-consuming, and even once my consciousness returnedto the tangible world, I could feel the lingering effects fizzling out as the night’s sweat dried into a layer of salt on my skin.
Grateful to regain my touch with reality, I yawned loudly and propped myself up, blinking to accelerate my wakefulness. My muscles were stiff from their dream-induced tension, but felt better after being stretched until my joints cracked in relief.
“Oh, you woke up,” the deep, husky voice of a woman said from behind the couch. I startled to full awareness at the unexpected visitor.
Before I had time to look behind myself, she made her way over to the armchair, sinking into it with a casual slouch. She was an Arielna, one of the allegedly nasty-tempered, reptilian creatures that I had seen outside when I arrived here. Her scales were a deep magenta, fading out to soft pink flesh. The way her shiny black hair was slicked back behind her head revealed pierced, pointed ears. With chilling depth and intensity, her large, nearly black eyes stared me down. Over their empty darkness were lashes long enough to touch her chiseled brow bone. She was strangely beautiful.
“Hi?” I sat up uneasily to match her level, allowing myself to look over my shoulder in search of Graysen in the process.
“My name is Mykie. Nice to meet you.” Her words were friendly enough, but her tone sounded tense and agitated. It didn’t help that when she forced a smile, tiny, sharp, pearly white teeth filled her mouth.
I remembered Graysen having mentioned his best friend was an Arielna named Mykie, I had just assumed it was a nickname short for Michael. I certainly hadn’t pictured a lizard woman dripping in sex appeal with a stare that made me want to crawl into myself. She wore shorts that barely covered the highest points of her thighs, revealing long, curvy, scaled legs. Her top was similarly revealing, with small breasts perked highunder her low neckline. Long black nails tapped on the arms of the chair as her eyes scanned me in return, the shifting reflection of light revealing their slow but unrelenting investigation. Her ombre lips twisted slightly to the side, as if pondering. Her head was held high over her long neck, forcing her to gaze down at my hunched form despite my suspicion that we were the same height.
“I’m Faeryn.” Or so I’d been told. The name slipped from my lips instinctually and I realized that, given the lack of an alternative, I would be claiming it for the foreseeable future.
“Graysen stepped out, so I’m here to watch you and make sure you’re doing alright.” She crossed her muscular, feminine legs in a smooth motion. “Sounds like you’re having quite the summer.” Her onyx orbs peered into my soul, lashes batting infrequently.
“Where did Graysen go?” I cleared my throat. Of the two strangers I had met so far, this one seemed to have more hostility potential.
“Gods only know, he’s already been gone long enough.” Her eyes darted to the clock impatiently. “He’ll be back eventually. In the meantime, I brought you some clothing made for females.” She observed the button-down I had been provided with thinly veiled disapproval; I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or my host.
