Sereia turned to the blond male with her who still held the stack of clothing. “You may put those on the chair and leave us.”
He did as she instructed and left without a word. She looked at me as if she was waiting for something, and when I merely stared back, she sighed impatiently. “Undress.”
I cocked my eyebrows at her. I had no idea why she was copping an attitude, but I wasn’t going to take it.
“Please,” she added, looking like she’d tasted something sour.
“Of course.” I stripped down to my underwear, and she made short work of taking my measurements. I would have appreciated her efficiency if she hadn’t tsked over my frame, which wasn’t as tall and willowy as all other female faeries, or made a sound of disapproval when she saw the freckles on my shoulders.
When she was done, she went to the pile of clothes and chose a pair of pants and a top, which she held out to me with a satisfied little smile. I knew the reason for her smile when I saw the linen-colored pants and pastel lilac top. The pants were fine, but most pastels clashed horribly with my red hair and made my skin look washed out.
I accepted the pants and refused the top. “I’d like a different color.”
Sereia’s mouth turned down as she selected another top. This time it was a tangerine one that would have looked amazing on her. Me, not so much.
“Do you have something blue or green?” I peered around her at the pile of clothes, seeing nothing but more pastels.
“No,” she replied a little too gleefully.
I walked over to the clothes and picked through them, ignoring her indignant huff. She hadn’t brought much of a color selection, and I was certain that had been on purpose. I found one white top that looked like it might fit me and slipped it over my head. It had clearly been made for a taller female, but it didn’t look bad.
The pants were a different matter. When I donned the pair she’d given me, I discovered they were a size too small, and they bunched up at my ankles. Every pair I tried was the same. I gave up after the sixth pair and pulled on the pants I’d worn here. They were the perfect length and size, which meant Lukas had ordered them specifically for me.
“I’ll have to wear these until more can be made,” I said, earning an appalled look from her.
“You cannot wear the same clothes two days in a row.”
I shrugged. “Better than my pants bursting open in public, don’t you think?”
Her lips thinned even more. “This is not your human world. It is unseemly to wear the same clothes for more than a day. It’s also custom for us to change our outfits for the evening hours.”
The bell chimed. Sereia moved before I could and went to answer the door. A male elf entered carrying a tray covered with a white cloth, which he set on a small table. When Sereia motioned for him to leave, he looked at me.
“Prince Vaerik requested a midday meal for you,” the elf said timidly in English that was more stilted than Sereia’s.
“Thank you.” Warmth filled my chest. Lukas might be too busy to be here in person, but he was thinking of me.
The male left, and I walked over to see what he’d brought. There was a thick soup with colorful vegetables, some bread and cheese, a bowl of mixed berries, and a small carafe of juice. The soup’s aroma hit me, and I was suddenly ravenous. After my portal debacle, lunch had been forgotten in the rush to prepare for the trip to Faerie.
A sound reminded me Sereia was still in the room. I looked over to where she was gathering up the clothes she’d brought. I went to help her, but she waved me off.
“I will return in two days with several outfits, and you can decide on the rest of your wardrobe then,” she said stiffly. “You will have to stay in your quarters until your new clothes arrive.”
I had no intention of staying cooped up here until she got around to making my clothes. Based on our short acquaintance, I wouldn’t put it past her to take her sweet time. I didn’t tell her that though because I wanted her to leave and let me enjoy my lunch.
As soon as she left, I exhaled loudly in relief and carried the tray out to the small table on the balcony. The food was delicious, especially the berries. I’d had some of them before, but there was one kind I’d never tried. They resembled red currants and tasted like a hybrid of mint and cherries. If I hadn’t filled up on soup and bread, I would have devoured them all.
After my meal, I wandered around my room – or rooms. There was the main living area, a large bedroom with another view of the valley, and a bathroom with a sunken tub. I loved baths, but they were a rare luxury when you shared a single bathroom with your parents. I had a feeling I was going to get a lot of use from this one.
An hour later, I was bored, and it hit me that I didn’t know how to find or contact Lukas or the others. There were no phones in Faerie. I was sure they must use some form of communication, but I hadn’t thought to ask.
I was on the balcony passing time by watching drakkans on the distant cliffs when I felt some discomfort in my stomach. I ignored it at first until a small cramp hit me, followed by a bout of nausea. I put a hand to my stomach. This is what I got for eating too much of the rich Fae food at once.
I sat at the table, hoping it would pass soon. It would be just my luck to get a tummy ache on my first day here and when Lukas had promised to have dinner with me.
A stronger cramp knotted my stomach, and I thought I was prepared for the nausea that would follow. I wasn’t. I doubled over, clutching the edge of the table for support. By the time it passed, my face was damp with a sheen of sweat, and I was shivering despite the heat of the day.
Needing to lie down, I went inside and got to the couch before the next cramp struck. I moaned and curled into a fetal position as knives stabbed my gut. The pain had barely subsided when my stomach roiled violently, and I threw up all over myself and the couch.
I struggled to sit up and get away from the foul smell of puke that made me want to retch again. I made it to a sitting position in time to throw up down the front of my once-white top. Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I slid off the couch to my hands and knees and crawled toward the bathroom.
My whole body seized with the next cramp, and I curled up on the floor, gasping. I barely had time to recover before another one came. “Oh, God,” I moaned. I had survived being shot and a conversion, and now I was going to die here in a pool of my own vomit.
Chapter 9
I wasn’t sure how long I lay curled up on the floor as wave after wave of sickness hit me. I’d given up trying to reach the bathroom. All I could do now was ride it out. There was nothing left in my stomach to throw up, but I retched until my throat burned.
“Jesse!” Cool hands brushed away the hair that had fallen onto my face, and I was dimly aware of Lukas’s raised voice. Was he speaking to me or to someone else? Did it even matter? Nothing mattered except this never-ending agony.
Someone picked me up and laid me on a soft surface. There were more voices, male and female, but I couldn’t distinguish any of them. My lips were pried open, and I fought when a bitter liquid dribbled into my mouth. But the hands that held me were too strong, and all I could do was cry as I was forced to swallow the awful stuff.
Two more times I was made to choke down the liquid until the spasms in my stomach began to lessen. The nausea stayed, but I was no longer heaving.