“Olezka.”
“Would you mind accompanying me?” His gaze flickered to the druid.
I had a feeling that even if he knew I considered her a friend, he still didn’t trust her. If he knew all of the information she’d shared with me today, I doubted he would want me to spend time with her alone in the future.
Even though I wanted to be angry about his lack of disclosure and have time alone to process the information she’d given me, I took one look at the strong male who had done nothing but protect me since the moment we met, and my heart softened. He came back to this world and remained because he was looking out for me. Right now, he needed me.
“Yup. Tess, can we talk later?”
“Of course, Sixx.” Tess refused to look at Olezka.
Part of me tried to dismiss her concerns and convince myself she was talking about someone different, but she refused to look at him, and I didn’t miss the jolt of fear that made her edge away.
Should I fear the male who called me his?
Chapter 18
After spending the rest of the day with Olezka, which consisted of him sleeping and holding me so tightly I struggled to breathe, he didn’t tell me what happened with the ogre, nor did I ask. My mind was already too full of everything Tess had divulged. I told myself Olezka had only done what he thought would best protect me. Olezka was smart and patient, and I had to trust him to navigate this strange world I knew nothing about.
While I logically knew those things, the knowledge that he could kill without remorse was unnerving.
Olezka dropped me off at my room with a promise to see me soon, but then another day passed, and I didn’t see him. Though worried about my mate, Ana convinced me to accompany her during her training sessions where she spent most of her time bickering with Erebus. After a particularly heated exchange, Erebus called it quits for the day.
“The Oidhche Dhorcha festivities have begun. Humans are not typically allowed, and ideally, it would be best for you two not to take part.” Erebus fixed his fathomless eyes on Ana with a raised brow. “Unfortunately, after Anastasia’s little display of power the other day, the Court will expect to see her at the Ball. Olezka has been covering for me since I’ve been helping you learn to better harness your powers.” Erebus sighed. “As it is, the Ball is tomorrow night, and I need to return to my duties. I will send the royal dressmaker and several ladies to prepare you for the Ball, but I need you both to remember this is not your world. It is mine.”
With that, Erebus dismissed us and stomped out of the room.
Ana stuck her tongue out at his retreating back like the mature, responsible lady she was.
“Return that to your mouth, halfling, or I will find a better use for it,” Erebus said without turning around. My eyes widened, and I turned to face Ana.
She growled, “Arrogant ass.”
After Erebus left, we didn’t have to wait long before another knock sounded. Ana ambled to the door and opened it, her back stiffening as she turned and walked woodenly away from the new arrival. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide. My brows rose as did my curiosity.
As soon as the newcomer walked in, I got it. I gulped audibly and backed up.
The fae woman had shiny black hair that fell to her waist like an obsidian waterfall, twitching side to side with her movements. Her figure was curvaceous in all of the right places, with an impossibly tiny waist.
Four sets of matte black eyes were spread symmetrically down her long face. She had no nose and a very thin set of lips, and her alabaster skin was flawless. She wore a crimson dress with long sleeves that tapered to points at the end of each of her six – that’s right, six – arms. She prowled into the room, crossing two pairs of thin arms over her chest in contemplation. Palming one elbow, she tucked her chin in the palm of her hand with one set of arms. The others landed squarely on her hips. My eyes probably bugged outside of my head.
She tsked quietly.
“I will have my work cut out for me,” she declared with an accent I couldn’t quite place.
Ana shivered from her spot far away from the woman. Ana was as brave as they came, but we all had our irrational fears. Ana’s just happened to be spiders, and there was no question what this woman resembled.
“Come stand before me, human.” She waved one of her lower arms at me impatiently, and I did as instructed, hoping to give Ana more time to get used to our strange visitor.
When the fae seamstress circled me, a bit of my fear rose as she trailed one hand over my shoulder and around to my front.
“Disrobe.”
“Um, no, thanks.”
The fae woman sighed and pulled a small knife from the bodice of her gown. I didn’t know how she possibly had room for it since her dress was practically skin-tight. While I was still pondering the mechanics of stitching a knife into a dress that tight, her arm darted out and sliced down the front of my dress, causing the material to slide from my arms with a whisper. I tried to grab the fabric halves and cover myself, mortified at the thought of them seeing me naked.
Ana and I had known each other a long time. We’d seen each other in our undies and wrapped in nothing but a towel. Once, when we jumped from a cliff into a lake, I got a flash of her boobs when her top hurtled upward. But never once had I seen all of her lady bits, and she’d never seen mine. I didn’t care for the idea, either.
“Excuse you!”
Even more disconcerting than her overabundance of arms was the expression on her face when she rolled four pairs of eyes in my direction. “Excuse you, pesky human. I have seen more naked bodies than your feeble mind can count; yours makes no difference to me. Do not fear. I don’t lust after your kind like the males of my species or even hers does. You have nothing to fear from me.”
Besides the lack of modesty and overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and self-consciousness, you mean. Ana had preached many times over the years that I should be proud of my body and not let a number on a scale define how I felt. But in a world where body image was a constant stream of consciousness, it was hard to shred those thoughts and live as confidently as others. Especially with a petite mother. While she was never cruel, a remark here or there cut just as deep.
“Hey, Sixx, I’m gonna head to the bathroom to freshen up,” Ana said, providing me with what little privacy she could in the midst of my humbling experience.
I swallowed hard when she disappeared behind the curtain that made up our door to the bathroom—since the guard who attacked Ana broke it down. Alone with the spider seamstress, I still didn’t feel comfortable enough to drop the fabric. The woman came forward and tugged my arms away from my body, leaving me bare.
She scrutinized my body in an instant. After completing her sharp perusal, she nodded to me, and I darted to the closet to get dressed. When Ana exited the bathroom, she went through the same process. She undressed for the spider woman without complaint but demanded the fae keep at least a six-foot distance. Ana hated spiders.
Once the spider woman left, the rest of the day belonged to us. After puttering around for a bit, we congregated outside to sit on the balcony where the teasing strains of music and loud festivities echoed around the other side of the palace. Though the night air was cold, I breathed in and let it swirl in my lungs.
“I learned a little more about Olezka.”
“Oh yeah?” Ana looked over at me.
“Yeah. I went to visit Tess while you were training yesterday, and she told me a lot of very interesting things. I don’t think she realized who I was to him. It appears he’s been keeping things from me.”
Instead of answering right away, Ana looked out over the sumptuous landscaping. After a few quiet moments, she spoke. “Do you remember when we first met?”
Sometimes it felt like it was only yesterday when we began our strange journey. Other times, it was impossible to remember a world without her.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t tell you the first day I showed up at school that I wa
s a half-fae, paranormal girl with supernatural powers, did I?”
“Well, no.”
“And you didn’t tell me that your biggest fear in this world was drowning.”
I shuddered at the idea. My fear stemmed from a childhood incident with a friend who had moved away long before Ana came on the scene. This friend had a pool, and one day, she convinced me to try the diving board. I was terrified, but I wanted to seem brave, so I tried it. I wasn’t ready for how deep the pool was or the amount of force I would feel when hitting the water from that height. I froze and forgot how to swim, and if her dad hadn’t jumped in to save me, I would’ve died. While my fearless friend Ana jumped off cliffs, I was content to wade in the water, stopping when it hit just under my breasts.
“My point is that we all have secrets. Sometimes, we keep them to protect ourselves, but sometimes, we keep them to protect those around us. I wouldn’t judge him too hard for not telling you everything. Plus, you two haven’t known each other a super long time, and we’ve sort of been in a series of life or death situations since you met. Give him a chance. Right now, I’m sure he’s out of his mind with worry for you.”
We were quiet for a minute before Ana laughed. “I mean, look at me! I drunkenly told you I knew Erebus was lying and keeping something from me. But we’re both too stubborn to admit what we both know.”
“What’s that?”
“Sixx, I kissed him, and it wasn’t like anything I’ve ever experienced before. It was like…” Ana’s arms lit up with her electric power.
“Like electricity,” I finished for her.
She looked at me and smiled. “Exactly.”
We both turned back to the night sky, contemplating the series of events that led us right here, right now.
“So, we both have mates.”
“Apparently so,” Ana said.
“Shit.”
Ana barked a laugh.
We spent the remainder of the night watching the stars wheeling overhead and listening to the festival as it carried on long into the morning. Part of me wanted to learn how this world partied, but if Erebus didn’t want us there, I had a feeling it was for a very good reason.
Tomorrow, we would face their customs whether we wanted to or not.
****
Ana and I fell asleep on the balcony, tucked in blankets we’d snatched from the bed. We had a rather rude awakening when the spider woman came back, looming over us with different expressions etched into each of her many eyes. Ana screamed bloody murder while I took a measured step back, gripping the railing.
“Inside, both of you. I have much work to do, and I cannot do it out here. Quickly!” the spider woman snapped. Ana waited until the dressmaker retreated inside the room before following cautiously.
“One of you get in the bath while I make the last-minute adjustments on the other’s dress. We have a full day of getting you prepared for the customs of the Oidhche Dhorcha Ball.”
Ana practically ran for the bathroom. I didn’t mind.
“Mate of Olezka, you will be wearing his colors: dark maroon with black stitching.” Since she didn’t give us a name for her, I started to refer to her as Spider in my head. The Spider snapped her fingers, and a couple of smaller fae scurried into the room.
They only stood around three feet tall, each with dark, wrinkled skin and a large nose. From their long hair and feminine shapes, I assumed they were female. They carried in a dress together.
“Brownies, help the human dress and quickly. She will need the most work. As untasteful as a human mate is, we cannot control the decisions of the fates.” She waved one of her many hands at me and urged me toward the brownies. Scampering back to the door when a soft knock sounded, she allowed two more brownies in who bore a different dress between them. It was black with silver etching, the material sumptuous and appearing to suck the light from the room.
My attention was diverted when my two helpers tugged at my clothes. I swallowed, grateful that they didn’t seem to want me completely naked. They left their version of underwear on me, not that it covered much. Apparently, I was built thicker than the women of this realm. After they slipped the elegant dress on me, Spider circled me and nodded.
“A few adjustments will be needed. Trade places with the halfling.”
Ana came out of the bathroom, looking a little peeved, and I realized why when I noticed one of her brownie helpers shoving at her legs, pushing her toward Spider.
“I do not like this lady,” Ana muttered through gritted teeth.
I managed to hold back my laugh until I was in the bathroom where I closed the curtain and freshened up. When I emerged, we spent long hours being tortured in the name of beauty. Spider forced us both to sit still as they worked on several versions of classic fae hairstyles for Ana while they tsked distastefully and worked a traditional human style for me.
I allowed her to do what she wanted, just hoping to get through the day and evening as quickly as possible. Once our hair was done, she spent time on our faces, doing our makeup. Ana shuddered every time she used four of her hands, two to hold her in place, and the other two to work on her. I sat still so I didn’t get the same treatment.
When she finished, she stood back and admired her work then gave some critical notes.
“Do not speak unless spoken to. Human, you must stay beside your mate throughout the entire evening, or someone will snatch you up for their delight. I would hate to see what that murderous hound would do if someone tried to snatch you. Possessive creatures, our males. Above all, do not draw attention to yourselves. I’ve grown to like you two in the short time we’ve spent together. I would hate to see one of you die tonight.”
Spider waved goodbye, and for one horrible second, I didn’t think she was kidding—about us dying or liking us. I swallowed hard.
Tonight would be rough.
Chapter 19
Even if Spider was the creepiest fae I’d met so far, I had to admit she had an eye for design. The deep maroon dress fit me perfectly; it was flattering on my curvaceous figure yet never clinging in the wrong spots. Sheer black sleeves embroidered with vines and flowers brushed down my shoulder to my bicep then trailed down to my wrist in gossamer strands. The neckline was a little more ambitious than anything I would have picked out on my own. It cupped and laid against my skin tightly, dipping down to just above my belly button, somehow managing to stay classy. The flower design from my sleeves carried over to the bodice, lending a gothic, sexy vibe.
The bottom half of the dress hugged my hips before billowing into layers of delicate, silky fabric, except for the slit cut to mid-thigh on the right side. When I stood straight, it was hidden, but the second I took a step, my eyes bugged out as I realized how much leg showed. Ana whistled appreciatively, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at me.
Ana looked effortlessly glamorous in a black, princess-cut dress with a tight bodice and wide, poufy skirt in airy layers of silver tulle. She moved gracefully, appearing to float above the floor with smooth, steady glides.
Spider had forced stupidly tall heels on my feet, claiming that height would make my beauty shine. Personally, I thought she was full of crap and possibly biased since she stood closer to six feet. I was pretty sure she wanted to watch the human with knobby knees walking like a colt taking its first steps. Huffing, I released my hold on the wall, which I’d used to help me get to the ballroom. While I looked like a human amongst angels, Ana strode forward like she belonged in a fae ball, ethereal and regal with zero ounce of apprehension.
The closer we traveled to the festivities, the louder the music became. From afar, it was merely beautiful. The notes were unlike anything I’d ever heard. Unique yet elegant. We reached a set of large double doors where Isa stood, wearing shiny new leathers and polished weapons. Without deigning to meet our eyes, she strode forward and opened the door.
The moment the doors opened, my stomach plummeted, and my chest tightened anxiously. I was bewildered by the immensity of the roo
m revealed by the doors. The room was situated at a corner of the palace with two walls comprised of ceiling-to-floor windows and ornate French doors leading outside on both sides. The lighting was dim and moody, lit only by pale tapered candles floating in rounded glass globes. Gossamer fabrics in slivery gray draped the walls and softened the edges, acting as a soft counterpoint to the windows that looked out over the glittering gardens.
Filled with more fae than I’d seen before, I could tell most were High fae, though there was a scattering of Lower fae huddled together in small groups. They were easy to spot in this crowd.
Ana straightened her back and lifted her chin imperiously, exuding confidence and strength. I shuffled next to her, hoping to blend in and get through the night unscathed.
In the back of the room, King Erebus sat on an imposing throne that looked like it was formed by the earth instead of by fae hands. It was made of slate black stone that had no edges or lines. Silver veined through the stone, highlighting his colors. A broad, black crown was perched on his head, seeming to consist of nothing but spikes and harsh edges. He looked as terrifying as he had the first time I saw him at his bar in the human realm.
I tried to plaster on a shaky smile, but it failed miserably from the assault of unkind stares flung in my direction like daggers. I quickly gave up on that and decided to try my luck at finding Olezka. Even with these sky-high heels, I couldn’t see over the heads of the High fae in the room. Ana had already disappeared in the crowd, but it would be easy enough to spot her bright blonde hair in this room of Dark fae.
“He is at the back. Erebus will soon make an announcement to the crowd, and he must stand with him to convey a united front. But he will come for you as soon as his duty is complete,” Timur whispered in my ear.
I jumped away from him and glared at Olezka’s brother. “I hate it when you guys do that!” I slapped his shoulder, which was roughly the equivalent of being smacked by a fly. He awarded me with a big, toothy grin, and I rolled my eyes. But when he finished laughing, he grabbed my hand and gently pulled my arm away from my body.
The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx and the Fae Page 13