Page 104 of A Fae in Finance
Gaheris turned with alacrity and exited the room.
I went for my suitcase, still on the floor by my bed, and grabbed the clothes on top—the soft green leggings and long tunic the Gray Knight had made for me all those months ago.
“Can you all let me get dressed?”
Lene, who had picked up Doctor Kitten, sat on the bed, her short legs dangling over the edge. “Please do,” she said.
I stared at Sahir, who stared back. I raised an eyebrow. Sahir sighed with the gusto of a man performing his favorite activity and pushed past me, his arm jostling my shoulder, to leave the room.
“Nele is lovely,” Lene said as I pulled the leggings on beneath my nightdress. “She will care for Doctor Kitten as well as I do.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask questions about you.” I turned my back to Lene and attempted a complicated maneuver involving a sports bra, my left arm, and the neck of the nightdress. It ended with my shoulder jammed into my left cheek.
“Friendship can be difficult when one party is imprisoned against her will in a magical land and the other party sleeps for eighteen hours a day,” Lene said, in the tone of someone stating a fairly evident fact.
“That’s very wise,” I said, attempting to dislodge my shoulder. Then I glanced at her, sitting primly on the bed with my cat.
“Lene, is it dangerous for you to help me find Roman?” I asked. “I’m sorry, I don’t fully understand the intricacies of inter-Court politics,” I added, when she glanced up.
She shrugged. “I will brave the danger as fair return for what you have given me.”
I glanced down at the cat, not sure if she meant she thought I’d given her Doctor Kitten. He stared back at me, implacable. I pretended his expression meantYou’re stuck with me foreverand notThis is my new mom.
“Could they… kill you?” I asked, in a voice that sounded awkward to my own ears. What would I do if she said yes?
“No,” she said, which was a relief. “Have you never been a political prisoner before?” she continued, which was not a relief.
“Ah… no,” I said, shoulder still stuck to ear. “Have you?”
I extricated myself from my nightdress and straightened everything out.
She looked bewildered. “Of course. It is fairly common when we travel the roads in Faerie to be waylaid by overzealous soldiers of one Court or another.”
I blinked at her. She blinked at me.
“So then what happens?” I asked, rubbing my arm to bring some feeling back into it.
She wrinkled her nose. “The soldiers bring you to their liege as tribute. Their liege offers you an opportunity to swear fealty. If you choose not to, they will negotiate with your liege against your return.” She paused and frowned at me. “I do not know what would happen if the Queen encountered you,” she said. “As humans are usually killed on sight at the Queen’s Court, I do not know humans who have met her.”
“Very cool,” I said, grabbing my shirt and yanking it on.
“Cool?” she repeated. “I do not see the connection to temperature. Is this a human idiom?”
“Uh. Yes.” I patted myself down to smooth any disarray. “I’m dressed,” I added, still at a normal volume, and Sahir opened the door immediately. “Creep,” I said, mostly for my own benefit.
“I am not a creep,” Sahir said, leaning against the doorway. “I am efficient with everyone’s time.” He’d folded his arms across his chest, his biceps straining at the sleeves of his shirt. This felt intentional. The man had magic shirts; he could have sized them appropriately if he wanted to.
Gaheris came up behind him, leading a small woman who looked remarkably like Lene, with the same brown fur and delicate features. “Efficiency is an odd value,” he said. “It never interested you before you went to the human realm.”
“Hi, you must be Nele,” I said to the woman with him.
“Oh, yes!” Gaheris exclaimed; he was an enthusiastic, if indifferent, student in my human classes. “Nele, I hope all is well with you. This is my Miriam.”
Gaheris looked at me hopefully.
“Very close,” I said, gently. “I’m your friend Miriam, not your Miriam.”
“Well, youaremy Miriam,” Gaheris said, perplexed. “I do not have another.”
