I'm forced awake by the gurgling of my stomach. It rolls again, the content in my gut forcing its way up my throat. There's a flash of panic before I catch a glimpse of a sink through a side door. Dashing through the room, I just make it to the sink as my stomach expels the unsettling food.
I turn on the tap, thanking the gods for running water. Our town had plumbing installed over a decade ago but Mother swears well water is the only way it should be harnessed. I haven't been ill in a long time, but washing vomit down the sink is a lot easier than having to clean it up with a rag and a bucket of water.
My stomach twists again, thinking about it. I leave the water running, scooping some in my hand to rinse out my mouth. Totally exhausted, I sag to the floor, bending my arm up to use as a pillow. Did the faerie wine make me sick? Nothing else changed in my diet and there have been no temperature fluctuations, being the middle of summer.
Gaelish had recommended the wine with a wicked grin on his lips, showing off his feline incisors. After Mother's admittance that I'm half Fae and Cara isn't my real name, I figured I had nothing to worry about. But then Kailan showed up, raging mad.
I sigh. Kailan. The Fae I had come to bed, spurred by my mother's insistence that I couldn't do it. He had almost raped me until he stopped.
Or had he? If I hadn't started crying, would he have raped me in his anger? Babies are still made through rape. It just wasn't how I imagined my first time to be. Then again, I doubt any woman plans to be raped, first time or otherwise.
I'm not sure how to feel about that. He didn't go through with it, but had it been his intention?
Voices carry through the wall and then a door creaks open.
"Well, where is she?" a woman asks.
"She's right--" Kailan stops abruptly. "Cara?"
"Ew. What's that smell?" the woman's voice says as, I assume, Kailan storms into his room, his footsteps heavy and quick. He's standing over me within seconds, the terror clear on his face. Reaching to turn off the water, Kailan crouches in front of me, touching my arms, neck, and forehead.
"Are you all right? What happened?"
"I vomited. But I feel better now. Just super tired."
His face screws up. "Forgive me, Cara. We cannot stay here."
His sister steps into my line of sight. "You're wasting time. Pick her up."
He cuts her a scathing look before focusing his attention on me again. "Are you able to walk?"
"I think so."
"I'm about to carry her myself," Breena snaps. "I actually like Queen Tatiana's court."
Kailan ignores her, helping me stand. My knees wobble as the room tilts. Kailan wraps his arm around my waist and urges me forward, telling me, "We are running out of time. We have to put ample distance between us and Tatiana before the sun rises."
"Okay," I assent, leaning against him for support. The world becomes level with each step, but my legs still feel weak as he takes me into the hall. The tunnel seems darker, more ominous than before.
Gravel crunches under our feet as the siblings, Kailan moving in front and Breena behind, walk me deeper into the cave system. It begins to get chilly, my skin and hair dampening in the misty air. I cross my arms in front of me to keep warm, clenching my jaw so my teeth won't chatter. A cold breeze comes from a deeper part of the cavern, swirling around my bare calves.
"Your human is turning people," Breena remarks in a bored tone.
Kailan turns, curses, and pulls his tunic over his head. He gently eases the shirt over my head and I do my best not to stare at him. I've seen shirtless men before, out in the fields on scorching days, so I know Kailan looks similar enough... but he's also different.
His abdomen is the same, thinning from broad shoulders to a narrow waist in a luscious display of muscles. What's different is his chest. The men I saw in the field had almost boxy pecs, the bottom of their chest nearly a straight horizontal line separating it from their abs. Kailan's pecs are mostly triangular, nearly extending to his collar bone, with a slight curve going from his side to his sternum.
"Thank you." I force my tongue to speak, amazed by the warmth of his shirt. Every time I've touched him, he's felt cold.
He stiffens, turning away abruptly. I study his back as we continue our trek. Again, the bottom half is normal, human-like. His sharp shoulder blades jut out in the middle of his back, similar to how a starving person's would. Except from the jutted bone to the ball of his shoulder are giant gouges on each of his shoulder blades.
Between his shoulders, the vertebrae of his spine also protrude abnormally, although they level back out when they reach his neck. To come across as human, it's definitely wise for him to leave his shirt on.
"Are you even going to address what just happened, brother?" Breena wonders, incredulous.
"It is an open-ended debt, Breena," Kailan responds, sounding as if he's speaking through clenched teeth. "I may address it whenever I choose."
I stumble, realizing my mistake too late. I had thanked him, which means now I owe him. Whatever, whenever, he decides to claim his debt.
Breena huffs. "It better be something good. I'll ask Olga about it. That's where you're going, isn't it? To visit our sister?"
He's silent for a few paces. "I thought about it." He turns left down an adjacent hall, this passage significantly darker. As if he knows I've lost my sight, Kailan reaches his hand back for my own, guiding me through the void.
Soon enough, I hear water crashing and the tunnel begins to get lighter. We emerge near a familiar waterfall. Everyone in the village comes here on really hot days to cool off and socialize. Shocked, I turn around, seeing only the stone cliff face and Breena sneering at me. More specifically, at Kailan's and my joined hands.
"Well, well," a disembodied voice croons. "Going for a late night stroll in the middle of the party, are we?"