Captive of the Shadows (The Fairy Code Book #1) by Kaitlyn Weiss

Chapter Three

HAVING SCARED me silly, Doran simply strode out of the room, leaving me sitting on the floor. I sat there another five minutes or so, and then crawled into the bed. I mean I really did crawl, because after Doran's big scene, my legs weren't up to supporting me. I couldn't handle scary stories when I was a kid, and now here I was, thrust into one.

Bed seemed like a fine idea, actually. I still felt weak and wobbly and kind of muddled. It was kind of like having a slight case of the stomach flu, which a friend of mind caught once. I wondered why I felt this way, though.

Despite my unfortunate circumstances (to put it mildly), I was already processing everything I'd gone through. Perhaps this was my body's way of dealing with it all. I was acclimating to my situation. I mean, it's one thing to fly south and take a week to get over jet lag, but I'd been thrown into an entirely different world.

A different world ... it sounded stark raving mad.

My white dress was crumpled. I pulled it off with relish, and crawled under an unusually light, warm blanket. On top of everything else, I seemed to be chilled. I suddenly realized that my teeth were chattering from the cold issuing from deep within me. I quietly sobbed and bit my lip. Then the door opened, and someone new slipped in.

"I brought you food at the order of Doran."

She was clearly a woman. And young. She wore a long dark-purple dress with a deep neckline and long flowing sleeves. Her hair was swept upward, and was an unusual gray color that almost blended in with the color of her face. And her eyes were enormous and black, rather like a bird's. In contrast, the rest of her features were small and sedate.

With difficulty, I looked from the strange being to the tray that she put on the bed. My eyes immediately turned to her long fingers ending in sharp claws.

"Um....wha..what..."

"You can eat this," she explained, and added, "My name is Aderyn."

"Aurora," I mumbled, trying not to stare too openly at the girl. The food itself didn't appeal to me much. My stomach was empty, but the nausea put me off of eating.

Meanwhile, Aderyn openly gawked at me. She didn't seem hostile, but she also didn't display the slightest sign of friendliness. It was like I was some exotic animal at the zoo. So, I stared right back at her, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Doran told me to make sure you ate."

"I don't feel good."

"That doesn't matter. You should do what he says."

"Or else what?" I asked acidly.

"Otherwise, he will punish me for not fulfilling his orders. You'll catch hell, too. And so if I have to, I'll force feed you."

I could barely stop myself from diving for the plate laden with meat and vegetables and the glass with a strange bluish liquid. The last thing I wanted was to be force-fed by this creature.

"Drink the juice for starters," advised Aderyn. "It will stop the nausea and help you get the food down."

She kept her strange, unblinking eyes trained on me as I struggled to take two sips of the liquid. Then she smiled. Which was unfortunate. Aderyn's teeth were small and pointed, like that of a fish. "I've never seen a human before."

"Back at you," I mumbled, taking another sip. Yes, the bitter juice really did alleviate the nausea.

Aderyn sniffed and said, "You don't stink."

"Is that a problem?"

"Humans stink. Some reek of wickedness, some of lies, and some smell like sex. That's what I was told. But you don't stink at all."