Page 21 of Changed

He had left our room upon waking, after who-knows-how-long sleeping on a nest of blankets on the hard floor. I had been given the decadently comfortable bed with its piles of soft knitted blankets and fluffy pillows. It was his loss if he chose to be stubborn and commune with the floor. He had said he was going to talk to the elder of this enclave, and had refused to let me go with him because "I don't need your running your mouth at the wrong time and entangling us in another dangerous bargain with strange fae."

It would have been offensive, if I wasn't absolutely certain he was just trying to protect me. He was so transparent sometimes.

"Ruya," he said in his pretty, cool voice. "I see you did not follow my advice to stay in our room, and have instead been wandering the halls surrounded by questionable fae strangers. As expected. Well done."

So protective. I huffed. "And I see you are once again overreacting, and I am perfectly fine. No one said we couldn't leave our room."

I could practically feel the eye roll that accompanied his words. "My visit with the elder was frustrating, but overall encouraging, I think," he informed me. "If you were at all worried about our fate or how long we might be kept prisoner here."

I shrugged, just to annoy him. I really had been worried about this meeting and I was afraid about what the passage of time might mean for us. Why had Robin and the others not already shown up, raging mad, demanding their court members back? Had something gone wrong? Maybe the trap that was sprung not only affected those of us at the outskirts nearest the portal. Maybe there was a bigger, more deadly trap waiting for Robin, Sanka, Cicely, Dusek, and Martina inside the emperor's mansion. I was sure I would sense it if they had died. Surely my banshee powers would kick in, the way they had when Yukio was mortally wounded. Wouldn't they? The truth was, I had no idea how those powers worked. And even if they weren't actively dying, the others could still be hurt, or trapped in the emperor's pocket world, or lost as we were in the fae territory…. But I wasn't going to let Yukio see how worried I was. Not when feigning stupidity would get a rise out of him.

"I'm enjoying my stay," I said with a bright smile. "Your kin are very welcoming. In fact, I was just about to go have a bath."

He didn't react.

"Yuki? Are you still there?" I asked innocently. Even though I could sense his powerful presence sulking nearby.

"Thank you for looking after my… friend," he informed the wild fae woman. "I'm sure you have other important things to do with your time. I will guide her from here."

I was sure there was a stare-off of some sort in the silence that followed that statement. The poor woman was probably under orders to watch us. And yet, Yuki gave her no way to maintain her polite, helpful guise by refusing to do as he asked. She could hardly suggest he was incapable of taking care of his own blind… friend. I nearly rolled my eyes at the drama.

Eventually, the woman gave in, as anyone would under Yukio's frosty insistence. "Of course. Have a pleasant afternoon."

Yukio moved closer as the woman's footsteps retreated, pulling my arm through his and escorting me back the way I had come, then taking a turn at the intersection of hallways. "You are vaguely annoying," he told me conversationally. "But it's entertaining to watch you work so hard at it."

I chuckled. "Thank you. It's nice to have one's efforts appreciated. Is everything really okay? With the elder?"

"As okay as it can be, I suppose. He is waiting for something. He won't tell me what. Clearly, he will ask you to do something for him in return for sheltering us. But I get the sense that there is something more." I felt his shrug ripple through where my arm was wrapped around his. "High fae like to pretend they are ancient and wise. But they have nothing on the wild fae. They are more in touch with our roots. With the old magic. It makes me uneasy to know that a wild fae elder is scheming. It is possible he can hear and see things we cannot."

That was… unsettling. "You mean like… he can see into the future or something? Is that what you're saying? That he's waiting for something to happen because he knows it will happen?"

Yukio shrugged again. "Possibly. It is also possible he is simply toying with us. Who knows? Only time will tell, I suppose."

"If he keeps us here much longer, I'm sure Robin and the others will find a way to retrieve us," I said firmly.

Yukio sighed. "I have no doubt that Sanka will certainly try. The fool will probably blow himself up trying to recklessly override old fae magic with sheer brute fire and force." He paused, and his voice was strange when he spoke again. Some combination between fear and pride. "But don't you understand, Ruya? I've told you this place is heavily influenced by its fae denizens. They can warp time. For all we know, Robin and the others may not even realize we are missing. They might not realize it for weeks, months… years. It is completely unpredictable. Time will pass differently here in the enclave and for those under its influence. We are no longer part of the same world."

I stumbled, unable to form words. Yes, he had mentioned this ability to influence time on a couple of occasions. But he had never really explained it in any real depth. If anything, I assumed the opposite would be true—that time would move slower here than out there in the real world. Like some of the old human stories. But as usual, it seems the humans only got half of it right when they attempted to tell tales of paranorms.

"Well," Yukio said in a cheery voice, brightly and sarcastically redirecting our conversation to prevent my rapidly approaching panic attack. "Here were are. Strip."

Chapter 12

Ruya

Istopped in my tracks, confused by his weird demand for a moment before my brain caught up. There was steam in the air. And I could hear the soft sound of water trickling over stone. "You brought me to the bathing pools?"

He still held my arm as he leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Wasn't that what you wanted? Your fake mate to attend to you? What? Are you suddenly shy, witch?"

I huffed. "Don't be stupid."

Pulling my arm from his, I grasped the hem of my loose shirt and pulled it off over my head. If he wanted to play this game, I would call his bluff. Yukio had already seen me at my worst—in the midst of my omega heat, begging for sex. He had kissed me, traced his hands over my skin… then pulled away when his fear and overthinking caught up with him.

Despite my sheltered upbringing, I wasn't shy.

The pants were next. I pulled the tie, then let them drop to the floor, leaving me completely bare before him. "Alright," I said with a bland smile in his general direction. "Where to?"

He was silent for a moment, and I could feel his eyes on me, taking in my naked body. Then he burst out laughing.

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