Page 52 of The Iron Fae
"Get what is rightfully yours." Replays in his deep baritone voice. It makes my heart pound in my chest. It’s all I can hear. It’s all I can think.
Get what is rightfully yours. Get what is rightfully yours. Get what is rightfully yours.
I gasp, throwing myself into a sitting position. Both hands grab for my chest, for my heart that threatens to break through its cage. The blankets fall to a heap in my lap.
"You okay, Cupcake?" Kai says softly. He stands next to the bed, his hand hovering but not touching my back. "You're not alone." He reminds me.
I turn to stare at him. He's much cleaner than I remember him on the trip, his hair loose and still wet from a shower. Instead of the unfitted travel clothes he'd donned, he's back in his traditional suit with colorful embroidery. He offers a kind smile.
"I'm okay, Pudding." I try, my returned grin a little weak. Blood rushes to my head. The level floors of my room tip and turn, spinning in blurring circles. I lean into his hand behind me, remembering the Spirit’s bite.
“Your wound!” I shout thinking about how the black blood had made his clothing stick to his skin.
Gently, he pulls his arm away and holds it for me to examine, pushing his sleeve up. “Seer fixed me up. I’m fine. Maybe you should lay back down?"
"Briar?" A raspy voice says.
My hair flies around me as I snap my attention to the familiar voice. I push both hands against the mattress to steady myself. Butterflies build inside my stomach, an excitement that swells inside of me. My cheeks automatically flush.
"Lincoln?"
He's dressed similarly to Kai, his tailored pants a more muted tone and without a jacket or fancy design. Lincoln pulls himself away from the tall purple tinted window, his attention shifting between me and his brother.
I look down at my hand, realizing that in my effort to steady myself, I’ve taken Kai's hand again. Kai still watches me with gentleness, unbothered by his brother. Even though my head spins slightly, I pull both my hands into my lap and intertwine them. My fingers are longer, more delicate, my nails suddenly perfectly manicured.
"I'm different." The words are a shock. As if the recognition of it alone is a rubber band, something snaps inside of my brain. It ticks so hard I press against my temples with a groan.
Then I can hear it. I can hear it all. Lincoln's heartbeat. Kai's heartbeat. The sound of the blood rushing through their veins. In the halls, guards shift at their posts, mumbling quietly to each other. I can't make out what they say, but the second I focus on it it's like I'm part of their conversation.
My eyes grow wide as I look around the room. If I thought color was vibrant before... it's somehow deeper now. More meaningful. Lincoln’s warm and musky scent lingers in the room, it mingles with Kai's, less rugged, fresh smell.
I pat myself, feeling my body, working my way up to my ears to find that they've stretched to a point. Yes… that is it. The seconds when I found myself inside that stupid cave on top of the volcano with Zeve, I wasn't in pain… I was being stretched. Even my legs feel a tad longer now, and I am already tall for a woman as it is.
"I'm sure it will take a moment to get used to." Kai draws his hand back into his lap and leans in the chair that sits next to the bed.
"Have you been here this whole time?" I ask him.
"Carried you back and waited for you to wake. You're my guest, my friend, I owe you as much."
"And you?" I turn back to Lincoln. Seeing his wide frame in person again, makes it almost painful to stay where I am. I'd imagined letting him circle me within his arms, letting our bodies line up in the way that they so perfectly do.
"Your mind went blank. I couldn't hear anything." His lips press into a thin line and he takes a step closer. "I came as soon as I could and found you... like this."
"Let me help you up," Kai offers. "I'm sure you'll find the world much different now that your sight has much improved."
"Do I look different?"
"Same Briar we all know and love." Kai smirks. "No, you didn't suddenly turn into a fairytale princess."
"I don't believe you." I laugh.
In my peripheral, Lincoln cringes but quickly masks it by running his hand down his face. Dark stubble has grown on his chin, not long enough to be called a beard but not clean enough to be bare.
If I did transform into some sort of princess, Fae being, then I'd expect that my body wouldn't feel so exhausted right now. Perhaps that's normal considering I just went through some sort of crazy change from totally human to partially Fae.Is there even a normal to compare this to? How often did Shadow Fae get their magic half stripped from them?
I place both my feet on the floor. My boots and the well-worn socks are long since gone. Has someone cleaned me? Dressed me? I glance at my body, worked into a simple red bra and matching panty set connected by only a few straps. I suppose this should be the least shocking thing considering the Fae don't have many boundaries and Lincoln's put me in and out a few outfits at this point. Still the tips of my ears burn.
With the first few steps, Lincoln moves toward me but slows when he realizes Kai's already there. The Prince hovers, holding his hands out ready to catch me should my body give out.
