Page 92 of The Gods Veiling
She waves me off and I try to make the smile I’m giving her seem real, but each step toward my house has the tension in my body rising.
Just from everything I heard last night, I don’t think explaining my situation of how I got here will matter to them.
I’m here now and they don’t want that one way or another.
Thayla
13
It was foolish of me to think my annoyance was bad this morning.
My nerves right now have me wanting to crawl out of my skin.
For the past three hours—that flew by in the blink of an eye—I’ve truly plundered through my room now that there’s enough natural light pouring in to see. I, for the life of me, can’t figure out how to work the lighting in here and I add that issue to my mental list of questions.
The biggest differences between how I created my dream home to how my personal bedroom has been designed are the two doors that lead to my very own bathroom and a closet.
The closet is most certainly what Chancellor Gulliver was referring to when he said everything would be provided for us. It’s packed with anything I could think of or ask for. Pants, shorts, shirts, gowns, shoes for every occasion. You name it, it’s here. In my size, ready to be worn.
The assortment overwhelmed me. Never in my wildest dreams would I see myself needing this much wardrobe. I even spotted different armors at the back as well but ignored it to the best of my ability.
I was hoping my days of that would be over.
Naïve, wishful thinking.
The shirt I had stripped off slipped from my fingers with my shock and as soon as I bent down to grab it, it disappeared, then reappeared hanging up. The stainI’d gotten on it when I dropped my egg off my fork was gone and it smelled like fresh linen.
I forced my racing heart to settle, walked out of the closet, then shut the door. There’s obviously some form of self-cleaning in there and my mind couldn’t process it.
After that experience, I told myself to be prepared for a luxurious bathroom as well. I didn’t prepare myself enough, though.
I paused the second I walked in and closed my eyes as I took the realm’s largest breath. The scent of the gorgeous purple angel orchids and wild meadow grass assaulted every sense and my heart. The longing that hit me square in the chest hurt just as much as this constant jerking.
Both confusion and homesickness followed when I took in the rest of the bathroom. My head tilted to the side as I asked out loud, “Why in the realm is there a hot spring in my bathroom?”
Obviously, no one answered me.
At first glance, I thought maybe it was a bathtub. Lambrit’s family had one in their home, but it sits on top of the floor, not in it. This, well, thing, is built into the foundation much like the hot spring I used to visit all the time.
I’ll admit that the steam floating off the clear water was incredibly tempting, but I decided not to test my luck with the unknown water hole just yet and I took a shower in the open design instead.
It was a little off-putting at first not having any sort of door or curtain blocking me. It’s just three gorgeous obsidian-layered stone walls with a waterfall-like showerhead coming out from above me.
I got over it quickly enough when the hot water hit my head. It felt like I was showering in the heart of nature when I closed my eyes.
A screech fell from my mouth when I stepped out and caught movement in the large, gilded full-length body mirror on the wall. It took me far longer than I’m proud to admit, to realize it was only my reflection.
I’m pretty sure no one can pass through my door without my say-so.
And I have no clue how to say…so yeah.
Since then, I’ve changed into four different outfits in preparation for this lunch, brushed my hair at least a hundred times, and have placed my ear to the door repeatedly.
Now I’m back in the bathroom, just staring at the reflection in the mirror that doesn’t look like me.
Well, it does, but a different me.
My skin is clearer than it was yesterday, my hair is shinier, and there’s somehow more dimension in the rose gold coloring. I’d blame it on the water here and that silky soap, shampoo, and conditioner that was in the shower waiting for me, but that doesn’t explain my eyes.
