Page 53 of Devour
“Are you trying to cook me alive?” I joke. My feet and ankles burn. The only time I’ve felt water like this was when my mother was cooking stew.
She chuckles. “Of course not! It’s not hot enough to harm you, but it does take a little getting use to. In the summer, we tend to venture out to the wild springs where it is icy cold.”
I file that thought away for future planning. Summer is months away, and I don’t intend to wait that long before I make my escape, but it is good to know just in case.
“But the fortress remains cool year-round, even when the sun is shining through the stones, so it is not necessary.”
I look up to where she points and find a spot of blue up in the ceiling. The sun is not shining directly through the gap, but I can see the sky. My heart aches at the tiniest glimpse of freedom.
I take in a long breath. The sun is not so far away, not as far as I’d feared. With my breath, I allow faith to fill my veins.
“When it rains, it falls right over there.” She points to a spot fifty feet away. “Only a small area. The children love it.”
I venture farther into the hot water and slowly have to lift the towel to keep it dry. Then, finally, once my hips are covered by the water, I find enough bravery to pull the towel away and face the vulnerability of air on my exposed breasts.
I wade the rest of the way to place my towel where she instructed.
Then, I slowly sink into water. She’s right that the heat seeps into my bones quickly and the discomfort fades away.
“How did you get so dirty?” She tsks but then chuckles.
“Being dragged here against your will does that to a person.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen. “I’m sorry if your experience was traumatic. What was your life like before?”
I sniff and lift a tiny pool of water in my palm. It slips back through my fingers. “It was hard. We were traveling south toward the free city of Braissid. I was almost taken by the—warriors, but we escaped and had to hide from them in a ditch.”
“You hid from the Drak?” She tilts her head.
“Well, them and the shadowscelp.”
She frowns but then her expression smooths out. “We have many travelers come to us from the outside. I have heard many terrible stories of what it is like in the outworld. Did you have food? A place to sleep?”
“Not much. Travel is indeed very hard.” I frown, looking down into the murky water. Something slithers by my feet.
“What was that?” I blurt out. Water splashes as I flinch away from the creature in the water.
Helena wipes droplets from her face and chuckles. “Just fish; they will not harm you.” Her smile is gentle, but my heart is racing once again. I do feel like a little dove in a viper’s nest. Every moment, I expect a strike.
It is its own form of torture.
“They keep the water clean. They may nibble on your toes if you’re still for long, but it does not cause any pain.”
Unconvinced, I watch the water for a while longer. I don’t see any moving tails or feel any bites.
“So, you were saved,” she says, watching me closely.
I shake my head from the distraction of the fish. “What?”
“Here, there is safety and plenty of food and this.” She splashes in the water. “There is no place like this anywhere else.”
“Saved,” I repeat the word, trying not to let too much emotion show. “I was stolen.”
“Stolen, yes. But taken to a better life!” She grins widely. She believes it. I look around this cavernous room.
The underground city is not what I had expected. It doesn’t feel like a city at all, really. But I am far from convinced this could be described as a better life.
Yes, there is comfort, but at what cost?
