“Go to sleep, Sweet One,” I murmured, finally allowing the exhaustion to claim me too.
Four
Elaine
Somewhere at the back of my mind, the thought pulsed that I should stay awake. Now was probably the worst time to fall asleep and hand my life into the hands of the man I knew almost nothing about. But exhaustion overpowered that thought, luring me into letting go of my worries at least for a moment.
It wasn’t like Timur would kill me. Why would he? He’d just paid a fortune for me, every single coin he’d had apparently. It made no sense for him to slay me and be left with nothing to show for all his gold but my rotting corpse.
He couldn’t rape me, either. As a shadow fae, he had no dick and felt no lust.
Maybe these weren’t the best arguments to let my guard down and leave my life entirely at his mercy, but as soon as I curled up on the grass-woven rug, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, it was already dark.
It’d been a heavy, sweaty sleep with no dreaming, but I remembered taking off my sweater at some point because it got so unbearably hot in here through the day.
Thirst gripped my throat and swelled my tongue to what felt like twice its normal size. I remembered Timur leaving the water bag on the chest by the wall to my left, and I carefully crawled there, feeling my way with my outstretched hands.
I found the bag and emptied it in one big, hungry gulp. The small amount of the tepid water still left me thirsty, but also in a desperate need of a toilet. How could my body want to pee and to drink at the same time? Life would’ve been so much easier if we had some kind of an internal moisture recycling system.
The swishing of the waves outside the thin walls didn’t help. But then, my hearing also caught another sound—a deep, measured breathing.
I recalled the door opening and closing at some point while I slept, but I was too tired to get up or even to fully wake up then. Now, I sat up straighter, wondering what had happened while I slept.
Had Timur left during the day?
Did that mean I was free to come and go as I pleased too? Or did he lock the door while he was gone?
If the door wasn’t locked now, maybe I could sneak past him while he was sleeping? I had no place to go, even if I could leave here. But I really needed to pee, and there was no toilet in this empty hovel.
I carefully crawled forward. The darkness thickened in the spot where Timur’s chair had been when I fell asleep. Was he there now? Sleeping?
“Do my looks not repulse you?”I suddenly remembered his question.
I was so tired when he asked it, the question had barely registered with me then. Now that he seemed to be asleep, I feltmore courageous, too, and curiosity stirred in me stronger than fear.
What did he mean by that?
What could possibly be repulsive or even unattractive in any way about a fae’s appearance? Their haughty words and immoral actions were what made me hate them, not their looks.
Every shadow fae I’d ever seen had been strong, muscular, and graceful. Their wounds healed quickly and without leaving scars. They were impervious to diseases. Apparently, they didn’t even know what eyeglasses were because they never had a need for them. Any kind of impairment was unknown to these perfect beings.
“Perfect, until we’re not,”Timur’s words echoed through my brain.
What was that supposed to mean?
I knew next to nothing about the man who now held my life in his hands. If I ever wanted to regain my independence, maybe I should learn more about him, including what he really looked like, and why his appearance caused that self-loathing in him.
When he’d removed his hood last morning, I could only see black and white blotches, along with a faint red glow that could’ve been the result of the heat or maybe the floaters in my eyes. Now, I had a chance to peek at him up close, as long as I remained quiet and didn’t wake him up.
The closer I crawled toward his chair, the stronger my curiosity grew, overpowering even my thirst and the need for the bathroom. Unfortunately, the daylight was now gone. I could barely see where he was sitting. My hearing remained excellent, however, so I followed the sound of his breathing.
I crawled on all fours, with my hands pressing into the packed black sand. With my next move, my right palm landed on the coarse material of Timur’s cloak on the floor. The fabricwas old and tattered. I might be a luxury item, but the man who bought me could hardly afford any luxury for himself.
Rising to my knees, I slid my gaze up his legs covered by the equally dark and worn skirt.
The white spinal column was hung over his knee. Its one end disappeared under the cloak draped over the armrest of his chair. The other one dangled between his legs. It was tipped with a long sharp bone with spikes on both sides. When used as a whip, I imagined it could cause some serious damage to an opponent in a fight. The fae in the auction tent had been lucky that Timur had simply escaped with his prize. Had he been forced to fight for me, many of them could’ve been hurt with that bone whip of his.
What fantastic creature had he pulled that spinal column out of? That was such a weird weapon choice. But maybe Timur counted on it being weird and unexpected? His opponents’ surprise at seeing it gave him an advantage in a fight.