Page 26 of Acedia

Perhaps it was my imagination, but I could have sworn the Shade woman scoffed. To my horror, I realized that I had no idea who I was speaking to. Nana would be appalled at my manners—she’d always drilled into me how I should act if I met someone new even though I’d never gone anywhere.

“What is your name? It was very rude of me not to ask earlier, I’m sorry.”

There was a slight pause. “Hela.”

“Hela,” I repeated firmly to lodge the information in my brain. “Thank you for bringing me breakfast. I’m Iris.”

“I know.”

Right. I supposed there weren’tthatmany ex-Hunters living in the shadow realm. How odd to go from completely hidden away to relatively famous in a day.

Tilly was apparently in no rush to come back inside, so I slowly made my way back toward the center of the room where the person—or Shade?—seemed to be. There was a soft clattering noise and I guessed they were setting the meal up on the coffee table rather than the dining table. Perhaps that was the way things were done here?

I lowered myself onto my knees on one of the enormous floor cushions, grateful I hadn’t tripped over it, and slowly and carefully inched closer to the table. I could admit, it was quite fun sitting on the floor to eat. I’d never done it before.

“Would it be helpful if I told you what was on the table?”

“Oh, ever so helpful, thank you.” I crossed my legs, finding the edge of the low table with my fingertips.

“The Shade diet consists mostly of meat. May I touch your hand?”

I was surprised she asked. Nana had always just grabbed it and put it where she wanted me to feel. “Yes, of course.”

I startled slightly as the sharpest nails I’d ever felt in my life rested lightly against my skin, guiding my hand over the tray. “Here is the meat. Over on this side is a dense bread thing that the palace cook has been experimenting with to help supplement your diets. Over here is some fruit from your realm.”

“Oh, how lovely. Thank you.”

How very welcoming the Shades were—they were really going out of their way to make us feel comfortable here.

“I’ll pour the tea for you,” Hela said hastily, making quick work of it before guiding my hand to the hot cup. I left it to cool, picking at the meat instead. I hadn’t expected to like it particularly—the way Nana cooked meat meant it was always very dry and chewy—but this was quite delicious. “Do you need anything else?” Hela asked.

“No, not at all. This has been very generous, thank you. I feel quite spoiled.” I wondered if this is how princesses in fairy tales felt. “Really, you don’t need to wait on me. I’d like to pull my own weight and be useful around the place.”

I felt her hesitate next to me. “You’re refreshingly sweet compared to the courtiers I have to deal with, so I will say these words as a kindness and hope you interpret them as such. You are in a palace now. You’re an esteemed guest here, in fact. Meals brought to your room are your due.”

“I don’t want to get used to such a luxurious lifestyle.” Nana would be horrified to see me sitting on my laurels, happily enjoying such a generous portion of food while Tilly romped around outside, as happy as can be. Was this meat safe for her? Perhaps Tallulah or Meera would come back and I could ask them about it. “When will I start working?”

“Working?” There was a shuffling sound of what I assumed was her feet on the bare stone. Did Shades wear shoes? It didn’t sound like it.

“Yes. Contributing.” I tried to think of a polite way to bring it up. “As I understand it, the Hunters who move here contribute to the power supply of Shades…?”

Hela coughed loudly. Perhaps I hadn’t done as good of a job asking politely as I’d hoped. It was just that no one had brought the subject up, and it was making me a little twitchy to not talk about it at all. I’d hoped one of the women would say something yesterday, but they’d both been more concerned with making sure that Tilly and I had all the things we needed from the human realm than discussing work.

“Not all of them. That’s not… there’s no schedule or anything. Certainly, for now, the expectation would be for you to get comfortable here first.”

“I’m glad there’s no rush,” I admitted. Though, I was also extremely curious still. The hint of that sharp nail on my hand had only made me more so.

What did Shades feel like? What kind of things did they like?

“When you came here, did you think you’d be doing that right away?” Hela asked curiously.

“I did. Is that an awful assumption to make? It seems a little crude of me, now I’ve been here a few hours and everyone has been unfailingly polite.”

Hela laughed. I could sense her relaxing next to me, and I hoped she’d feel comfortable speaking freely. “Not quite the ravishment you thought you’d get on arrival? No, I suppose not. Back in the olden days, that’s probably what would have happened by the sounds of it. When you were all the Hunted. King Allerick’s trying to do things differently this time around. Never forget that the power is in your hands. I’ll leave you to your breakfast.”

I didn’t feel particularly powerful as I fumbled my teacup, spilling the hot—but fortunately not burning—liquid over my fingers as I brought the cup to my lips. But then again, the way everyone spoke to mehadcertainly made me feel important. Even the prince had taken a personal interest in my safety and comfort!

Maybe I really could be valued here rather than a burden. If only I could get a message to Lucas to thank him—he might have changed my life more than either of us realized at the time.

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