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I see her upturned face, tears streaking down from her eyes, creating lines in her ash-caked skin. I clenched my jaw and get to her as she swoons into my arms. She is unconscious before I jet up and away toward my aerie.
Remi Storm
I awaken in an unfamiliar bed,a ringing in my ears rousing me. It’s more like a strange tune I can’t place. Whoever created this song must’ve been tone deaf because it makes no sense to me.
I follow the noise, and it leads me to Lucky. His wings spread majestically, the red to white gradient resembling twin flames shooting off his back. It’s beautiful, though I hate they belong to him.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
I’m taken aback. Why is he asking about my health? Hell, why is he being nice? “I’m fine. I guess?”
He turns, and I’m slightly disappointed he’s fully clothed. I have an odd memory of him being shirtless. I shake my head to focus on Lucky, and not strange visions of him. “Do you remember the fire at all?”
Panic seizes my chest. I remember fear and darkness. “No, I…is that what happened? A fire?”
I remember blackness. Ash. My clothes…sparks kept falling on them, burning little holes in them.
I brush over my sleeves when I realize that something feels off. Glancing down, I’m wearing unfamiliar clothes. “My clothes?”
He gestures to a closet with a mechanism reminiscent of a steam closet. Hanging next to it are my clean clothes.
My cheeks flush wondering how he changed me.
“Don’t worry. You had enough strength to stand while Divinity helped you change out of your clothes and into my shirt.”
Divinity. The faun girl from the festival. The memory flashes in my mind’s eye here and there.
Lucky shows me the washroom where I can freshen up. “You’ve been asleep for a few hours. I’m assuming you might be hungry, so there’s food being prepared. I didn’t know whether you prefer to clean up first or eat first, so both are ready, depending.”
“I’ll clean first,” I decide. I feel grimy and disoriented.
I’m bouncing between relief and agitation, and I’m unsure why. His presence calms me, yet there’s something about him that makes me feel restless. Like I want nothing more than to touch him.
Wherever does that thought come from? Shower. I definitely need to boil my skin off if I’m fantasizing every inch of Lucky’s shirtless (and pantless) body.
Lucky nods and walks away. There are stairs I hadn’t noticed. He pauses at the top. “When you’re done, there will be food below.”
I wait, expecting more, but he just gives me one long look before he shakes his head and disappears downstairs.
His bathroom is like something from a sci-fi spaceship, contrasting with the rustic look of the island. Especially since just a quick look out the window I know that he that this place is some kind of treehouse. Like some bungalow that has been vaulted into the air. I’m not too anxious around heights, but the idea of the physics behind it is dizzying.
I somehow figured out how to get the water running, but I was still mindful of the natural resources that they must wish to conserve. I manage to figure out the controls and dry off with a concentrated jet of air. Within thirty seconds, I’m dry and pleasantly warm.
My clothes seem clean and ash-free. I’ll have to learn more about this technology and see how I can fit it into my New York City apartment.
I bound downstairs to find a table laid out with a variety of vegetables: potatoes, corn, and something that looks like it could either be spinach or Brussels sprouts.
Lucky takes something out of the oven and I’m surprised to see that it looks like meatloaf. I assumed he was a vegetarian. I’m happy that he’s not.
He must have wondered why I’m staring. “I based this food off what you have ordered from the inn,” Lucky explains as greeting.
“Okay,” I say. The inn! Jonah must be out of his mind with worry.
“Your friend was worried about you. I reached out to both Val and Vane about you. They’re set to pick you up soon, possibly within the hour.”
I almost ask if he can fly me there, but it seems rude considering he saved me from the fire. If he’s not flying me out already, there has to be a reason.
I thank him awkwardly, unsure what else to say.
