Page 7 of The Heir the Fae Forgot
Her lips parted a small hiss issued out from between them. “You speak then…of the oracle?”
I froze at the sound of her voice.
The water seemed to chill around me, a shiver once again building at the base of my spine and running along me until even my shoulders shook.
“Is there…something wrong with the oracle?” I asked. I knew literallynothingof this so-called soothsayer that would be able to tell me who I was. I didn’t even know if it was an actual person, or a construct, or a spell, human, fae, creature…it was a complete mystery to me.
Her mouth twitched for a second before she answered. “The oracle is no friend of ours.”
“Ours?”
Once again, she ignored my question.
In fact, at the very suggestion of the oracle, she seemed to be finished with me entirely.
“Hot towels and a set of bedclothes are in the basket. Unless there is something else you desire of me, I have other duties to attend to.”
Somehow, I doubted that very much. I had a feeling her onlydutywas to me tonight, but the very last thing I was going to do was press her to stay—let alone accuse her of shirking Icarus’ orders.
She snapped her fingers once and the water, already darkened with mud from my body, was replaced once again with hot, fresh water. The scent of something deep and sweet like some flower just past the peak of its bloom rose to envelope me.
“Fair warning,” she said, before snapping her fingers once more to disappear, “the golden-haired lord is still outside your door.”
She was gone before I had a chance to respond.
My head snapped towards the door, but try as I might to listen for any sound of Shiel on the other side, I heard nothing.
My interaction with the servant creature had left me shaken, the shiver in my shoulders refusing to let up despite the new basin of steaming water. I hurriedly washed the rest of me, dunking my head under the water for just long enough to hope some of the tangles that had started to take up permanent residence on my scalp might start to soften.
I tried calling out to Shiel to let him know that I was aware of his continued presence, but there was no response. I hurriedly wrapped myself in a towel before creeping up to the door to press my ear against it.
“Shiel?” I asked again, starting to wonder if perhaps the servant had lied.
There was once again no response.
I hesitated only for a moment with my hand on the doorknob. There was no creature here to stop Shiel if he was simply waiting for his chance to barge in, but when one more attempt to call out to him came unanswered, I dared open it to peek outside.
The doorway was empty.
He’d gone after all.
I went to step out, only for my foot to land on something soft sprawled out across the door to my room.
I had to stifle a shriek as I leapt back, the towel nearly slipping off as my hands flew up to cover my mouth.
Shiel wasn’t gone, after all.
He’d simply fallen asleep, his body propped up against the doorframe as his head lolled to the side. His hand was wrapped around the handle of his sword, even in his sleep.
Exhaustion had claimed him so thoroughly that if it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of his shoulders, I’d have thought he’d dropped dead.
I considered waking him, but thought better of it. Instead, I fetched another one of the hot towels and laid it carefully over him before once again bolting the door behind me.
I doubted there was anything Shiel could do to protect me if Icarus actually wished me harm, but I had to commend his dedication. He might only be protecting me because he needed me for his own purposes, but he was protecting me still.
And that had to meansomething.
CHAPTERFOUR
