Page 37 of Shadow Kissed
“No. You’re not the only one to have arrived early,” Orna tells me as she stokes up the fire and turns on the light beside my bed. “There is one other chosen one here. Saveya. You’ll meet her in the morning at breakfast.”
I nod my head, yawning. I am tired. It has been a long and eventful day and it’s hard to believe that just this morning I was saying farewell to my family.
“If there is nothing else, miss, I’ll leave you to retire for the night.” She gestures over to a bellpull beside the large bed. “If you need me for anything, just call and I’ll come.”
“Okay, thank you, and Orna, it’s nice to meet you,” I say, and she smiles warmly at me.
“You too, miss. It is an honour to serve you during your time here. I’ll see you in the morning to dress you.”
I frown and shake my head. “Oh, I can dress myself, thank you.”
She looks at me wide eyed. “It is my job, miss. Mistress Saurthorn will expect me to dress you and prepare you for each day suitably. You must allow me to, or she will think I’m not serving you adequately.”
I don’t miss the fear in her eyes at the thought that her mistress will think she is failing in her duties. “Okay then, I won’t protest.”
She releases the breath she has been holding. “Thank you, miss. See you in the morn.”
“In the morn,” I reply. I hear the door click shut behind her and now I’m alone I can properly explore this place. I walk over to the large imposing bed and run my hand over the plush and expensive looking bedding. I’ll likely never want to leave this bed once I get in it. I pop my head into the bathroom, and my mouth hangs open. The room has glistening white tiles from floor to ceiling. I wince, thinking of coming back in here after sparring or when I’ve been out running in the rain. A large sunken bath sits in the centre of the room. It’s big enough to fit around four or five people. It’s more like a small pool than a bath. A large ornate, freestanding mirror sits to its right. I frown when I notice what looks like a massage table. Mother Crystal, this place is like a five-star inn!
I venture into my dressing room and stop in my tracks at what I see before me! It’s a large space with wall to wall hanging racks and shelving, a plush grey carpet and a large expensive looking quilted pouffe in the middle. What shocks me even more is that the room already contains a lot of clothes. I stepinside and walk along, examining the garments. One section has what looks to be day dresses, another section has posh looking evening dresses. Where were all the trousers and boots? Apart from some training leggings and tunics, there was nothing like the clothes I usually wear. This would not do at all. If that she-devil looking woman thinks I’m gliding around in dresses all day, she can think again.
Yawning, I stretch out and decide the lack of suitable clothing will need to be addressed tomorrow, because right now that enormous bed is calling to me. I grab my bag pack and pull out Arkynn’s shirt. I should throw it away, but I’ve worn it to bed for so long now and it provides me with the comfort of home that I need right now. I pull back the covers and sink inside.
“Mother Goddess, this is amazing!” I say out loud. The mattress feels like it’s made from clouds. I adjust the pillows and get comfy. At least I will get a good night’s sleep in this place.
15
RAEGAL
Iallow Moryen to guide me towards her office, leaving Eretreya with her new maid. I should be glad to finally be rid of her, but as we move away, my shadows protest at the distance. She irritates me to no end and her sheer prejudice against my kind when she knows nothing of us infuriates me. She’s a typical Asen, full of pre-made assumptions about my kind and believing all the gossip and rumours she hears.
Moryen closes the door, sealing us off, and my shadows itch to leave me and find the angry Asen and I grit my teeth as I try to keep them leashed. What is it about her that has them so fixated? Moryen gestures to the armchairs by the fire, as she walks over to a small drinks trolley and pours us both a measure of Rosuk, a strong alcoholic drink infused by the flower Lyllia grown only in our realm.
She hands me my drink before taking her seat. Moryen has been here at the mansion preparing for the girl’s arrival for about six months. She is a good friend of my mother’s and was the perfect person to take up the responsibility of preparingthese girls for life in our realm. I feel sorry for whoever chooses the fiery little ascian at the reaping because she’ll go kicking and screaming. I laugh at the absurdity of her playing the housewife and being round and pregnant with her Shadow Borne mate’s child. Yes, I think she would take being sacrificed to Arawn better than suffering the fate of being married to my kind. I’d never really thought about how it looks to the people of Asen when we take the chosen ones to our realm. It’s true they never returned to Asen and in some ways, I can understand why that has led to concern and mistrust. We know the truth. Let them think what they want. I’d hated my father when he had taken an Asen woman as his second mate. It felt like a betrayal to my mother, but she sat me down and explained that she couldn’t give him anymore children and that father wanted more heirs. When he wed the Shadow Kissed female, I’d refused to speak to her or acknowledge her and when she provided him with three more children, my hatred only grew. I watched my mother’s face as she watched his new wife cradle her babies and I could feel the pain she felt at not being able to give him anymore children. As I got older, as much as I still resented her, I could see that his Asen wife was a good woman. She loved her children and tried in vain to offer me the same love and attention. She also treated my mother with nothing but respect and she made my father a happy man. I’d made a vow on the day he’d wed her that I would never take an Asen mate. I don’t deserve a mate, Asen or Shadow Borne, given I robbed my dear brother of the chance to grow up and one day find his mate. No, I don’t deserve the opportunities and experiences available to me, not after what I did.
I recall the time I last saw my parents. It had been five moon cycles ago when they’d summoned me to their private rooms and my father had informed me I needed to prepare to choose a wife at the reaping. I refused; I told him I would rather die childless than take an Asen woman for my mate. My father had repliedthat it was my duty to secure a wife and the future of our race, and I’d spat back that he could get one of his halfling children to carry on his legacy, if that was the case. I grimace as I think back to the pain that had flitted across my father’s face when I’d referred to my siblings as halflings. It was a derogatory term and deep down; I didn’t hate them. How could I, when they all grew up admiring me and hanging on my every word? I tried to hate them, but I failed miserably. Mother had tried to reason with me. She’d sat me down, held my hand in hers and said that my behaviour was not that of the fine son she had raised. Being of aristocratic birth, I had to set an example for our people by marrying and continuing the line. She’d asked me to do it for her if I wouldn’t do it for my father. After much brooding and drinking and Jasiel trying to get me to see reason. I agreed to attend this year’s reaping.
“Care to tell me why you’ve brought a chosen one here three months early?” Moryen asks me over the rim of her glass.
“A lot of lives were lost because of the mutts’ attack on her town. I didn’t feel it was safe to leave her there,” I explain. There were other reasons too, such as the mutts following her scent and behaving in a way I’ve never seen them do before. But for now, I am keeping all of that to myself.
“I heard about that. Such a tragedy.” Moryen sighs, finishing her drink. “With that hair and those eyes, she’ll be popular at the reaping. Is it me or are they a darker shade than the other chosen ones?”
I nod my head and place my drink down on the side table. “Fair warning to you, Moryen. She’s going to be a handful for you.”
And that’s an understatement. Eretreya will despise every moment here.
Moryen chuckles. “Nothing I can’t handle. And you? Has your mother convinced you to choose a girl at the reaping?”
I shudder inside at her words. “That is the expectation.”
Moryen studies me. I can tell she’s trying to work out what I’m thinking. “Well, as you’ll be based here, come to some of the events, get to know the girls. You never know, you may find yourself drawn to one of them.”
Sighing, I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know about that. I barely tolerate the Asen’s as it is. Being around so many may be a tall order.”
Moryen bobs her head from side to side. “Perhaps you’ll realise there’s more to them than you think.”
I smirk. “We’ll see. I should check in with my captains.” I get to my feet, and she rises from her chair and walks me to the door. I place a kiss on her forehead. “Lovely to see you, Moryen.”