Page 20 of Voices in the Stars
The room was small. Two beds were shoved together against the far wall. A small table sat next to the head of the first bed. It would only take a few steps before I reached the first bed. I stayed where I was, in the middle of the small amount of open space we had.
“Food’ll be here shortly,” Atlas grumbled as he pushed by me.
He slid his leather boots off, tossing them to the side with a thud as he climbed into the closest, neatly made bed. The bag he had been carrying was slid off and set onto the floor. Even laying down, he looked more put together than I was throughout this entire dream. The clothes I was wearing now were cleaner than my dress had been. They were still covered in mud and grim from walking here and being thrown into the dirt. My feet were caked in drying mud and dark red spots that I quickly looked away from. Now that I stopped moving, there was a dull throb echoing from the bottom of my feet up my legs.
“Gonna be real weird if you just stand there all night.” He spoke from his reclinedposition on the bed.
When I didn’t answer, he sat up, his head moving as he followed my gaze. His eyebrows drew together as his gaze returned to my face.
“Where did your shoes go?”
“Never had any,” I answered, shocked that he hadn’t noticed before. Did he really think I was stumbling after him for the fun of it? My cheeks burned as I waited for the same insults Klyn had thrown at me earlier.
“Damn Fera,” he cursed, rubbing his hands down his face. “Sit.”
Following his command, I hobbled to the edge of the bed. Each step sent shocking pain up my legs. I sank into the soft material, a sigh leaving me. The moment the weight left my feet, the throbbing worsened.
The bed squealed as Atlas jumped up. I closed my eyes, grinding my teeth against the pain. I could see nothing, but his presence felt like a weight as he stopped in front of me. My skin burned as his gaze trailed over it. Furniture scraped along the wood floors as he rearranged our room. I wanted to open my eyes and watch him, but I couldn’t. Even just partially relaxed, I felt like I was moments from passing out.
The events of the day weighed heavily on me. I could barely wrap my mind around the fact that it’d only been a day since I was safely sitting at home. Marrying Adrian seemed so juvenile now. My fingers found my ring, twisting the little band. It would’ve been easier to just stay there and marry him.No.I knew deep down that never would’ve been my choice. If I knew of this place then, I would’ve run away. Maybe tried to convince Josi so I wasn’t alone. I would have done it either way. If I didn’t wake up back home, this was the chance at the life I wanted. I just needed to get rid of the kidnapper first.
I jumped as a cool hand touched my calf. My gaze shot back to the man on the floor in front of me. He was sitting in a chair he moved in front of me. There was a bowl full of water and two stacks of cloths sitting on the table he dragged next to him. I tried to pull away, only for his grip to tighten.
“Relax,” he muttered, pulling my foot onto his lap. “Need to see how badly you’re cut up.”
I leaned back onto my elbows, keeping my gaze trained on hisevery move. He grabbed one of the cloths from the table, dunking it into the water. I hissed as he scrubbed along the bottom of my foot. It burned as he cleaned out every cut and scrape. He didn’t let me move far as he twisted it around, inspecting every inch. The dirty cloth was dropped to the floor before he grabbed one from the other stack of cloths. This one was large enough for him to wrap around the bottom of my foot. I hissed as he wrapped the cloth around, tightening it to tie it off on the top of my foot.
“Atlas?” I asked, testing his name.
He just hummed, grabbing from the first pile, starting the cycle over on my other foot. I couldn’t help the warm feeling that started spreading through my chest. It’d been a long time since anyone other than Marie showed me any care. I was sure he had his own selfish reasons for doing this. I blurted out the first question that came to mind rather than dwelling on that line of thought.
“Can you also shapeshift?”
He laughed, shaking his head before answering, “No.”
I relaxed further, thankful that I didn’t have to worry about him suddenly changing on me. I looked down at where my hands where spread on the bedding.
“Can I?” I asked, the question thick in my throat. Who knew how this dream world worked and what freaky powers I could’ve woken up with.
He gave me a weird look as he slid my feet back onto the floor. He grabbed the now dirty bowl of water, walking it over to the window. The only sound was the creak of him opening the window then throwing the water out of it.
“How am I supposed to know that?” he questioned in return, setting the bowl back on the table as he went to work, moving the furniture back.
I shrugged, feeling my cheeks start to burn. That was fair, but honestly, I thought my question was, as well. My gaze followed him as he moved to his bed, laying back down.
“Sleep. I’ll wake you when food gets here” was all he said before closing his eyes.
I pulled my legs up, curling around myself. My back was facing himas I felt my eyelids start to droop. Embarrassing myself in front of him didn’t matter. All of this was just a damn dream that I would wake up from as soon as I fell asleep. I pulled the blanket up over myself and above my head, plunging myself into total darkness. Soon, I would be back home with my sister and Marie. I could figure a way out of my engagement after that.
Bright light was shining directlyinto my eyes. With a groan, I quickly shut my eyes again, stretching my arms above me before rolling over. My face buried into one of the soft pillows, I cupped it to my face to the point where I could barely breathe as my body curled around the pillow. No part of me wanted to be awake. The days after any party were a whirlwind of cleaning and making the house look like no one lived in it again.
Opening my eyes again, I blinked away the last remains of sleep. I pulled myself up to a sitting position, stifling a yawn before I felt everything in me freeze. I wasn’t home. I was still at the inn. My chest heaved as each breath was forced from me. The room blurred as the panic settled in my gut. This wasn’t right. I wasn’t supposed to be here. This was a dream. It had to be. The only other option was that everything yesterday was real.
I shook my head, pulling my legs up, wrapping my arms around myself. None of that was possible. Creatures couldn’t shape-shift. There weren’t men running around with horns and fangs. My life certainly wasn’t at any real risk. Except it was. I didn’t know dream rules, but I should’ve woken up by now. Someone would’ve woken me by now. I glanced over at the bed next to me.
Atlas was gone. Relief filled me that he wasn’t silently watching my freak out. His bed was neatly made, and all of his things were missing. The only sign that anyone had been in here recently was a bowl sitting on my bedside table.
My stomach grumbled as I reached for it. How long had it been since I last ate? The sun shining through the window screamed that an entire day had passed. My nose curled as I stared into the wood bowl. The liquid was dark brown with small chunks floating inside it. It looked like someone scooped up mud and expected me to eat it. The smell was familiar. It reminded me of something when I was younger. A memory that wasn’t fully formed. I shook off the feeling. My rumbling stomach took over as I started quickly eating it.
