The Stone Queen by L.E. Bross

Author:L.E. Bross [Bross, L.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

I floated on a cloud.

When I rolled onto my stomach, my face pressed into the fluffiest softness I’d ever felt in my life. And it smelled so good. A deep inhale filled my lungs with the hint of lemon and sunshine, and I smiled to myself. I flopped onto my back and stared at the ceiling where strange painted animals frolicked around in a large circle.

When I blinked, they suddenly sprang to life, dancing around the edge of the sunken ring gleefully.

It took enormous effort to tear my gaze away and look around the room. Luxury seemed like such a plain word for what I was surrounded by. In my wildest dreams, I could never imagine a place like this existed. My bed was enormous, opulent enough for a Queen. Massive carved wooden posts rose from each corner, and filmy materials draped from post to post, crisscrossing to create a canopy of colors.

A huge rug covered most of the floor, bursting with colors I didn't even have names for. Almost gaudy in their brightness, colors that should have clashed mixed and matched and somehow worked together.

I wished it were a dream, but it was my reality. I’d woken as Nephaste laid me in the bed, the room dark around me, but when I opened my mouth to question him, he’d breathed that cold mist into my mouth and once again I slept.

Now, sunlight streamed in from floor length windows and bathed the entire room in bright, welcoming light. Everything was perfect. Too perfect. In truth it was all just a luxurious, gilded cage. I sank back against the pillow and closed my eyes. This might very well be where I did die.

“Is everything acceptable, Princess?”

It didn't surprise me to see Nephaste leaning against the door jamb. I had sensed him the second before he appeared, as if an electrical wire stretched between the two of us. I did not want any kind of connection to that monster.

“Where am I?” I glared at him over the top of the covers.

“My home,” he said with a sweeping wave of his hand. “Do you like it?”

“No, it looks like a pay by the hour motel room.”

I tried not to let him see how very much I enjoyed lying in a bed with real, clean sheets and a soft pillow. By the smirk on his face, he knew.

“I thought you might be hungry. You've been sleeping almost two days.”

“No thanks to you.”

He ignored my outburst and stepped aside. A small man ambled in, carrying an enormous tray. Chains rattled with each step, and I saw his ankles had been manacled together. I glanced with uncertainty as he set down the gleaming silver platter covered with an equally polished dome.

Without a word, without even meeting my gaze, the tiny man bowed and backed out of the room. The tinkling chorus following behind. I didn't miss the nervous glance he slid upward as he passed by Nephaste.

“I didn't know what you liked so I had a little of everything sent up,” Nephaste said, walking into the room.

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