Page 12 of Fate & Monsters
Wooing a female took time.
I could not touch her yet. I wouldn’t touch her.
I would not.
Chapter 5
A warm hand cupped my cheek, then smoothed down my neck to my shoulder. The threat of claws tickled my pulse point, and my heart sped up, reacting to the sensation.
I jerked upright, breathing hard and scanning the room.
I was alone.
The haze of sleep clung to me, weighing me down and dragging me to the cusp of darkness again. My muscles protested as I shifted and slung my legs over the edge of the bed. A stream of light filtered through the paned glass window, muted by the years of dust coating the surface. I blinked placidly at the cobweb hewn corners and worn tapestries along the walls.
A soft crackle made my ear twitch.
I tipped my head toward the hearth, noting the glowing embers within, fading as if they'd burned for hours as I slept. How long had I slept? Who had come into the room?
A tentative knock on the door startled me. Myteeth clacked as I went rigid, fingers fisting the cloak around my shoulders. As the wood groaned, my stomach heaved itself into my ribcage and bullied my heart for dominance. Before I found my tongue, a shadowy figure lumbered inside. I strained my eyes to adapt to the darkness, trying to swallow my heart back into place, when a large bulky figure entered the poor excuse for light.
An amorphous being of shifting shadow stood before me. Silky black ribbons flowed around the edges like floating limbs. Unsettled, yet wholly entranced, I watched as the shadows coalesced into a substantial form.
“There you are,” a silvery voice spoke. Yellow eyes formed on the being, and a wide, menacing mouth split in the center. “Oh, a delightful creature, to be sure. Yes… yes.” It twirled around me, towering over me as it assessed me from head to toe. “Oh, I can work with this.”
“What… Who are you?” My curiosity bullied back my fear as the creature remained hovering out of reach. Breaths came easier as the being’s energy stayed serene and enthused.
“A gloomthreader, come to dress you for the master,” it answered.
My expression pinched. “I don’t know what that is.” Nothing familiar. Nothing mortal.
“Prince Mavros has summoned me to weave for you. I, Thayer, weave the best garments.”
“Weave for me?” I echoed.
“Yes, to provide attire befitting my master’scherished guest.” The rotund creature leaned forward, eyes blinking owlishly. I held my breath, bending away from the skin-deep scrutiny. “I am tasked with ensuring you are properly garbed at all crucial moments.”
“Garbed? Garments?” I fumbled for understanding until it dawned on me. I clutched the cloak around my shoulders, head tipping sideways. “I am not accustomed to wearing clothing.”
The creature—Thayer—quivered, and it made a shrill noise of glee. Dark ribbons fluttered with a life of their own. “Then I have the honor of crafting something perfect for your first time!”
Before I could reply, unseen hands snatched the cloak from around my shoulders. A chill air whispered over my skin, and I shivered. The heavy garment thumped to the floor, lifting a puff of dust. My lips pursed as I watched it, part of me itching to retrieve it and guard myself in its warmth once more.
Thayer’s appendages swiveled and flowed around us. My mouth clamped shut and tensed as silken, insubstantial protrusions gripped my wrists, then slipped along my arms, shoulder to shoulder, down my waist, then followed the curvature of my legs. Deft and rapid, a whirlwind of shadows took my measurements with barely more than a fleeting touch.
Cool threads slipped over my shoulders and around the base of my neck. I swallowed down a rising sense of dread as my groggy, sleep-slowedmind caught up with my situation. Thayer used several ribbon-arms to lift my hair and skim the length of my spine. I remembered the beast, his eyes, the heat of him radiating against me and the gloomthreader’s icy touch contrasted the lingering heat inside me.
What did it mean to be the guest of such a creature in a foreign world?
I understood the concept of castles, dungeons, and the strange whims of intelligent creatures. Though human accommodations had changed over time, from grand structures with spires such as this one to square blocky buildings and carriages with rumbling motors. In all my life, I had only watched humans and their interactions from afar. So far and so distant, I hadn’t even known when my kind vanished from existence until I was the last.
A wave of something so painful and overwhelming I couldn’t contain it crashed through my chest. My hands scrambled at my neck and breasts, clawing with human nails at the tender flesh. A cry, a wail, surged up my throat to leap off my tongue. And my cheeks were hot, burning, and wet. I swiped at my face, feeling the droplets escaping my eyes and blurring my vision.
My knees ached when they hit the floor.
Thayer jerked back, its large vague mouth curving down. “Oh, how miserably inconvenient.”
“What… what’s happening to me?” I gasped out. Fingers spread on the floor, vision going fuzzy, I scrambled for purchase on anything solid, anything real.
