Page 328 of The Spider Queen
I’d forgotten it was there.
I marched out of the bathroom with the intention of flinging open the bedroom door and walking out to find Meghan so I could put something in my empty belly, but I stopped short when I saw the man who’d carried me into the submarine.
He’d found a bath of his own and lost his metal armor. He wore a clean white shirt and brown trousers. His eyes were kind when they landed on me.
“You look better,” he said with a wry grin.
I grinned back. “I don’t even look like myself.”
“The hair, right? It was longer. What did you do to it?”
“Cut it. Obviously. But that’s the least of the changes.” I bit my no-longer-chapped lip. “I don’t know how long I was in the desert. Long enough to turn my skin golden, apparently. I used to be pale. Like cream.”
His brow furrowed. “He’ll have a lot of questions for you.”
“Who? Meghan’s brother?”
He nodded and took a step forward. “I’m to bring you to him. For the meal.”
I arched an eyebrow. Why did that sound like I was the one that was going to be eaten? “He’s not a creature who feasts on human flesh is he?”
The man smiled slightly. “No. But then again, you’re not human, are you? A mere human would not have survived the desert.”
“You survive the desert. And yet you are human,” I pointed out.
He cocked his head to the side. “Human, yes. But our lineage derives from the Iron Soldiers. I’d tell you more, but that would deprive Aloysius of the pleasure of doing so.” He gestured to the door. “Shall I take you to him?”
My stomach moaned in answer.
He laughed and led the way.
“You know you haven’t introduced yourself to me, right?” I said as I stepped out of the bedroom.
“Forgive me.” He bowed slightly. “I am Dorian.” He shut the door and then gestured to the right. “This way.”
“Stella,” I said belatedly. I was definitely curious about these Iron Soldiers. How had they come to be here? How did they survive the desert? The submarine was like its own underground city. I’d seen the market, and if I listened closely, I could still hear the faint sounds of it. People making deals and exchanging food and fabric.
Was this a bartering society?
And who was this Aloysius and why was he the leader of them?
More importantly, was he someone I could trust to help me find the last pearl?
Chapter 25
Dorian led me down a long gleaming metal floor to another door.How many doors were in this place?I wondered.How many rooms?Though the ceiling was high and the submarine appeared vast, I couldn’t forget we were underground due to the shifting dunes.
It induced a level of panic that surprised me. I’d been stuck in Hell and yet I hadn’t felttrapped. This was different. I suddenly had the urge to see the sky.
Dorian stopped at a heavy iron door and knocked. A moment later, it opened. A tall, thin man appeared in the doorway.
“I’ve brought Stella to dine,” Dorian stated.
“I’ll let the king know.” The servant backed away from the door and shut it.
I looked at Dorian. “King?”
Dorian smiled. “Does that intimidate you?”
