I jolted awake, my heart pounding in my chest as I scanned the dark room around me.
"You fainted," came a low voice to my right.
Sitting in a chair by the window, bathed in the dim strays of moonlight, was Kael.
"And it seems like you were having a nightmare." He got up and walked over to the bed.
From one nightmare to another. Or maybe… I pinched myself hard, and it hurt a lot, so I was awake.
That's definitely going to leave a bruise.
"What are you doing?" Kael's voice sounded confused. His expression must have matched his tone, but it was too dark in the room for me to see him clearly. He apparently had great vision.
"Just checking that I wasn't still dreaming."
Silence. Not much of a talker, unless he needed to know something, it appeared.
"Where am I?" I asked as I threw my legs over the edge and sat up.
"The Sagar's house." He answered, now standing right in front of me again.
"Oh, right, right. Sagar's an old friend of mine I forgot to mention." I answered sarcastically.
I didn't see it, but I felt the eye roll from Kael.
"Tomlin Sagar, you saved his son from drowning."
The memories from the last few hours came rushing in. Pushing the nightmare I had just awoken from to the far recesses of my mind, for now at least. I would have to return to it later, when I was alone and could figure out if it was more than just a dream. That old lab looked like the one in the annex basement, but I had never been there before last night.
I shook my head, locking that in a safe space.
"What was with all those golden sparks? I saw that they hurt you too, but everyone else…"
He grabbed my left arm suddenly and pulled it to his face, forcing me to stand on my tiptoes as he dragged me up.
"You look to be fine; there doesn't appear to be any wounds." He finally said after holding me for several minutes.
He didn't need to grab me to see I didn't have any wounds.
"It stung, but it didn't cut," I said as I pulled my arm out of his grasp. "Were they made of some self-contained electrical current?" I asked, recalling how they appeared like glowing golden bubbles.
"It was a blessing from the goddess Elysarra." His voice was serious and stern as he spoke to me. "But you seem to have rejected it."
So we're back to being in character, even after he witnessed me fainting. What will it take for them to stop with this charade?
I opened my mouth to share those exact thoughts with him, but I was too worn down.
If you can't beat them, join them, right?
"As did you." I retorted, remembering how he winced when the sparks came in contact with his skin.
"But I know the reason for my reaction. What's yours?"
"Maybe your goddess doesn't like me," I answered quickly, winging it with the role-playing.
"Perhaps." He muttered low as he closed the distance between us, his head bending down mere inches from mine. He stared deeply into my eyes as if they would reveal truths that I was keeping from him.
The space between us became even smaller as he leaned forward; his breath warm against my lips.
"Okay, buddy," I pushed him away, or I tried. His chest was a wall, and instead, I was the one who stumbled backwards a few steps. "You will need to roll for initiative for that."
I looked away, hoping to temper down the flush that I knew was spreading across my face.
"You say the oddest things," was his response.
There was a knock on the door, and it opened before either of us answered. Light spilled in, and standing at the threshold was the young girl, Tomlin's daughter. Her face broke into a smile as soon as she saw me.
"I'm glad that you're finally awake," her small voice squeaked. "We've finished serving dinner, but there is some left if you are hungry."
At least they'd stopped speaking to me in their fantasy language, I thought.
My stomach audibly grumbled at the thought of food.
"Yes, please," I answered enthusiastically. The young girl turned and made for me to follow her. Which I gladly did, until Kael's grip stopped me.
"What now?"
"Do not mention anything about the blessing." He said sternly. He must have noticed that I was going to say something to refute, so he continued, "These people are devotees of Elysarra; it will do you no good to share that she has rejected you."
I fought with all my willpower not to roll my eyes again.
"I won't say anything." I groaned as I pulled away. Already annoyed at how far I had been pulled into their game.
The house was sparsely decorated, and everything was made completely of wood. It had a rustic appeal, reminiscent of the cabin I had stayed in when I was invited to go skiing. It was the only time I had gone. I'd quickly realized that it was more expensive and painful than enjoyable.
There was a large fireplace in what appeared to be the living room. Two large armchairs and a small couch were the only pieces of furniture in the room. All three seemed to be made of the same brown fabric as the men's pants. Across from that was the dining room, which was slightly bigger than the living room. A large rectangular wooden table with benches on either side was in the middle, and off to the right of that was a small kitchen.
The stove was against the wall, above it a window that was left open. Across from it was the sink, and standing there were Tomlin and another young man, his hair the color of wheat, with eyes of the same shade.
Very realistic contacts.
They were washing up dishes.
Oh, thank god they have running water.
They both turned as they heard us enter.
"So you are my brother's savior." The young man said as he dried his hands and came toward me. "Thank you so much. I should have been the one to fetch water, but I was getting ready to head to the city, and I didn't know the river would be so strong today. I should have guessed it would be, seeing as it rained last night..." He rambled on for another minute, offering more justification and thanks.
He was cute in his wholesome appreciation.
"I am glad I was there at that time," I said, finally cutting him off. I was glad they all finally dropped whatever fantasy language they were speaking earlier.
My stomach was now eating itself. I needed food.
Tomlin came over with a small bowl of soup and bread, setting them on the table.
"It is not much, but there is more if you want a second helping," Tomlin said, his voice deeper and gruffer than I had imagined.
I sat down to eat, or I tried to, but they all stood around staring at me, very similarly to how the guard had looked at me.
"Alright, leave her in peace." Tomlin sensed the awkwardness and corralled his children out of the kitchen. It was only Kael and I left.
"Did you already eat?" I asked him through a mouthful of bread.
"Yes." Was his monosyllabic answer, though his face was saying a lot more as he watched me eat.
Normally, I would use proper etiquette at the table, but at the mention of food, my stomach became acutely aware that it had not consumed anything in nearly 48 hours, and my body did not care for decorum as I shoved everything into my mouth.
"What?" I asked again mid-chew as Kael's expression remained the same. Disgusted at my actions.
"You are clearly not a Lady. Or at least not a noble lady with those manners." He began, "So why would anyone have any interest in kidnapping you? Surely no one is going to pay your ransom." He followed up, so aghast as I continued to eat.
"Are you a slave?" He finally asked, with a look of realization on his face. "A slave of your kind would definitely fetch a high price."
I couldn't even eat in peace in this place.
"So slavery is allowed here?" I asked, getting annoyed at the new details I was learning about this made-up place. Though it didn't surprise me that something like that was possible, considering the men I unfortunately worked with who were into this thing. "And what do you mean by 'a slave of your kind'?"
Kael's face became serious.
"No, slavery is outlawed." His jaw tense, "But not everyone follows the law." He then looked me dead in the eyes and said with seriousness, "Your people, the Xoltecans, are widely sought after for your magical abilities and beauty."
Well, at least half of that made sense. It wasn't the first time I had been categorized as an exotic beauty in my life.
"Though in your case, I would imagine it was for your magical abilities." He added as he looked me once over again, "That would explain why Elysarra's blessing stung; you already serve another god." He went on, talking more to himself than to me. Completely oblivious to how I shook with rage at his earlier jab at my looks.
After everything I had gone through, did he expect me to look like a beauty queen?
My hands shook so hard that I spilled soup all over my hands.
Oh shit. Great job, Mara.
I reprimanded myself as I cleaned up the spilled soup from the table and finally noticed that the handkerchief around my right arm was missing.
The wound was gone. Completely gone. There wasn't even a scar. I turned over my left hand and looked for the wound there; maybe I had gotten the hands mixed up, but both were blemish-free.
"What the fuck?"