Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I’ve always preferred the shadows,” I admitted. “But…you go to the Mortal Realm?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes. It’s getting late—would you like a bath?”
“A bath?” I was suddenly on edge again. Bathing meant taking off my clothes and getting naked. Unconsciously, I pulled his cloak—which I was still wearing—more tightly around myself.
Liath seemed to see my gesture.
“You’ve nothing to fear from me, little bird—I won’t hurt you or take what you’re unwilling to give,” he rumbled.
I lifted my chin defiantly.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
He arched an eyebrow at me.
“You’re a terrible liar—do you know that? Should I show you the bathing and necessary room or not?”
“I can find my own way,” I said stiffly.
“Through those doors.” He nodded his chin at the far end of the room. “You’ll find a dressing area with clothing which should fit you as well.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know why I was thanking him—he wasn’t just my husband, he was my captor in this situation. And no matter what he said, I knew what he was going to expect once I got out of the bath and came back into the bedroom.
Accordingly, I took an extra long bath, putting off the inevitable. The tub was delightfully big—almost big enough to swim in.
Big enough for someone Liath’s size, a little voice whispered in my head. I turned my head and looked fearfully at the door, which I had locked securely behind me. It didn’t matter that I was locked in, however—Liath had demonstrated exactly how easily he manipulated matter with his blood magic. If he wanted to unlock the door and come in to catch me naked in the tub, he would.
He didn’t though and after a time, I began to relax. Just like the bedroom, the bathing area had high ceilings and tall windows that showed the Winter twilight world outside. It was warm inside, though—none of the cold leached through the glass windowpanes, for which I was grateful, not being used to the harsh weather.
There were living plants and vines growing in the corners of this room too, though none of them seemed to shed their leaves or make a mess on the thickly carpeted floor. I wondered who tended to them or if Liath simply tended them by magic. It was rather nice to have so much greenery indoors, I decided. It made me feel as though I was living in a jungle—in a good way.
After at least an hour of soaking in the scented water—there was an array of little pots and jars and bottles all filled with hair and bath products on the edge of the tub which I had made liberal use of—I decided it was time to get out. Not that I wanted to, but Liath might get angry if I spent too much more time in here. Also, I wanted to search the area and see if I could find a weapon I might use later.
Lifting a little metal lever, I drained the tub and stepped out to wrap myself in a drying sheet. It was warm and fluffy and it felt good against my bare skin.
There was a small necessary closet set into one side of the bathing chamber and a much larger, walk-in closet at the other end. I had already made use of the former, now I decided to explore the latter.
I saw at once that the closet was divided in half. The left side was filled with Liath’s clothing—neatly folded stacks of breeches, some shirts so huge they would have been dresses on me, extra pairs of enormous boots, and a brown cloak like the black one he had given me to wear.
I hung the black one up beside the brown one, though I didn’t know why I was bothering. Was I trying to get into the good graces of my new husband whom I intended to kill tonight? But my old nurse had taught me to be tidy and old habits die hard.
The other side of the closet had clothing for me—clothing I stared at in wonder. Not a single piece of it was pastel! There was no pale pink or baby blue or mint green or buttercup yellow to be seen anywhere. Instead, I saw jewel tones—ruby red and deep emerald and forest greens, cerulean blue which would compliment my hair color, which always seemed to clash with the lighter clothes of the Summer Court.
There were silver and gold accented gowns as well, which looked like they were meant for banquets or feasts—more formal occasions. I wondered which of them I was required to wear for daily Court life and indeed, what daily Court life here included.
Well, I would never find out, since I was killing my husband tonight, I reminded myself. And right now I needed to find something to sleep in. Something that wasn’t too revealing or tempting.