Page 100 of Mama Si's Paradise

I was halfway done with the food when I heard footsteps outside the doors. I thought for sure it was Valentine and I was relieved, which surprised me a bit.

But Valentine hadn’t hurt me—yet—and he’d actually hidden me behind his back against his own brothers, so for now, he was the lesser evil in this place until I found a way out. I’d stick to Valentine until I left.

Unfortunately, the doors opened, and three women came into the dining room. Valentine was not with them.

I froze, my food barely going down, and I had no clue whether to stand, to leave, or to pretend I didn’t see them. No clue if I should even sayhello.

I recognized them. All three had been in that room having tea in the morning, and the eldest of them with the shawl over her blonde hair was already smiling at me now.

Fuck.

“Oh, how nice to see you here, new girl.Fall,wasn’t it?” she said, surprised at the sight of me.

“And sitting at the head of the table—nice,” said another who hadn’t spoken to me that I remembered. She was taller, skinnier, absolutely breathtaking, and her black dress was made of rich velvet that accentuated her hourglass figure perfectly.

“Leave her be. It’s just her first day, poor thing,” said the third, slapping the back of her hand to her arm. “Rememberourfirst day?” And she looked at me like she was about to start crying happy tears soon. She, too, was gorgeous, with rich brown hair that fell all the way to her hips, thick silver bracelets on her right arm almost all the way up to her elbow and baby blue eyes that seemed genuinely kind.

“I remember it well enough. I didn’t sit at the head of the table to eat that day. Oranyother day after that,” said the taller one again, pulling out a chair from the middle of the long table.

“She’s fine. Nobody else is here right now,” said the other, taking a seat at the woman’s left.

“Was I not supposed to sit here?” I said, surprised at how steady my voice sounded.

But there was something about these women, probably the fact that they’d been human before, that didn’t scare the shit out of me like everything else in this place did.

“Don’t mind Lucinda. She’s very bitter by nature, but her heart is kind enough,” said the eldest as she sat on the right of Lucinda, who couldn’t stop flinching as she folded the black napkin in front of her, as if everything she was looking at disgusted her.

“I’m Cynthia, and that’s Vera. She’s Italian,” the woman with the blue eyes said.

“I am, indeed,” said the eldest, raising an empty glass at me.

“Where’s Aster? We’ve sat here almost a minute. This is rude,” Lucinda was saying, when Cynthia slammed her elbow to her arm. “What?!”

“Aster will be here soon,” Vera said, never looking away from me.

“What’s your name again?” Lucinda asked.

“It’s actually Autumn, but everyone calls me Fall,” I said, and that made her stop for a moment.

“Fall,” she repeated, her nose wrinkled as if she were tasting the name on her tongue, and she looked absolutely disgusted, except… “I like it,” she concluded with a nod.

“What an odd name,” Cynthia said.

“There are no odd names. There are just names,” Vera said, just as the door half hiding behind the strange painting opened again, and out came Aster and Vinny to serve the women food, just like they’d done with me not half an hour ago.

While they did, I kept my eyes on the table and ate the rest of my food, feelingexcited,not just afraid. These women were like upgraded versions of the girls at the Paradise. I don’t know what it was about them, especially Lucinda, but they intrigued me. I genuinely didn’t mind that they’d caught me in the dining room.

“Well, Fall, how do you like the Evernight Court so far?”Vera asked after Aster and Vinny wheeled their cart back to wherever that half-hidden door led.

“It’s…” I shook my head and sighed deeply. What would be the point of lying to these women? “It’s scary as hell,” I admitted reluctantly.

“It’s not scary. It’s a castle! The safest place in the Woods,” said Cynthia, laughing as she drank her juice.

“It might be a bit scary for a newcomer,” Vera said, as she cut the meat she was served into teeny tiny pieces. “I remember the first time I set foot here with Master Romin. I was incredibly excited, but I was probably a bit scared, too.”

I shook my head, ready to ask her about a million questions, when Lucinda beat me to it.

“Iwasn’t. This place is an absolute fairytale. There’s no light and no people. What more could you possibly want?” she deadpanned, then reached for the wine Vinny had poured for her. She was the only one drinking so early, it seemed.

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