Page 14 of Wolfkissed
It feels as if my life is collapsing around me.
Gods, I miss my mother.
Around my neck, I’m wearing one of the necklaces she left me, a silver chain with the medallion of a dragon, together with the locket with her picture inside. She loved nature and its many creatures. She loved winged dragons—the small darakins, and the larger draks, even the enormous dara that never touch the ground. She also loved the Eosphors, the winged, humanoid beings hanging from the firmament, kin to Astar Jaien, who still lives with his consort Aethre, the dragon maiden, close to the Central Sea, two of the Eternals.
She used to be fascinated by the fae, too, until the attack.
You like what you don’t understand until it snaps you up, chews you bloody, and spits you out. Then the monsters don’t seem so pretty anymore, do they?
I shouldn’t wish for her to be here and comfort me. She’s long gone, and I’m an adult. I should be strong enough to stand on my own two feet.
Despite the monster outside my door. Despite the perilous path ahead.
Honestly, I don’t want to think, don’t want to look. I keep hoping I’ll sleep, wake up, and realize it was yet another nightmare.
I’ve never hoped so much to find myself in a nightmare, but nightmares eventually end, and you realize you’re safe.
“My lady,” a voice says, and I jerk.
I lift my head and find Della beside the bed. “What is it?”
“My lady… should we give him water and food?”
I blink in confusion. “What?”
“The werewolf.” Her expression is pained. “I know the task of dealing with him shouldn’t fall on you, but he hasn’t been offered anything since he was brought to the manor. Maybe?—”
“I don’t care,” I snap.
“… Yes, my lady.”
“Let him starve and die.”
She gives a small curtsy, face blank. “Of course.”
Damn.The urge to pull the covers over my head and never resurface is overwhelming. That’s a bad sign. Sinking into the dread and panic is never a good idea.
So I make myself sit up, dizzy and wild-haired, in my wrinkled chemise and stockings. “What do I do? What am I going to do now?”
“My lady? Do you need help? Shall I draw a bath for you and call for some breakfast?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, let’s do that. Bath, breakfast, and then I need to start packing for the journey.”
Della’s mouth trembles. “There is still time.”
“I’d rather start before Stepfather decides to kick me out in the clothes I’m wearing,” I whisper, slowly coming to understand that it’s a possibility. “Something has changed in his plans, and I don’t know what it is.”
“Here.” Della takes my hand. “Let me help.”
I let her pull me to my feet, realizing that I won’t have such comforts for long, not when I’m about to plunge into the wilderness, expecting my own bodyguard to snack on me.
Unless the sword Stepfather promised is real…
The sword doesn’t make an appearance yet, though. Nor do I leave my room. As promised, Della arranges for a wooden tub and buckets of hot water to be carried upstairs to fill it. Meanwhile, she sends word to the kitchens for food, and soon enough, a manservant comes up with a loaded tray.
I’m not hiding from reality, I tell myself. I’m not turning a blind eye to the truth of my situation. I’m merely resting, restoring my strength and clarity of mind.
Preparing for battle.
