Page 13 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae
“Aw, yeah, it looks broken.” The woman stepped into the room, her heeled boots clicking on the shining oak floors. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have come so unexpectedly.”
“No, it’s not your fault.” Kolfinna placed the mirror on her bed and hid her trembling hands behind her back. She peered into the empty hallway from the open door, her heart racing at the thought of leaving. “It’s not mine, anyway.”
“Huh. Yeah, that’s true.” She jerked a thumb at the door. “Let’s go. We’re going to be having a meeting to discuss the Eventyrslot ruins.”
Was that what they were calling it now? Thefairy-tale castle?
Upon seeing her expression, the woman suppressed a chuckle and said, “Yeah, it sounds lame, I know. The king chose the name.”
“Right.” So the king was strange, she settled with.
Kolfinna straightened her blue dress and ran a hand over the skirt. It didn’t fit right, but it was the only dress she found she could squeeze into; it was meant for someone shorter and tinier, someone like the woman in front of her. On Kolfinna, it looked indecent. The skirt hung just over her shins, exposing her ankles, and the material stretched thinly over her shoulders, breasts, and stomach. She wanted to cover her body with how it accentuated all the features she wanted to hide—her wide hips, heavy breasts, and her belly.Especiallyher belly. She wasn’t thin like the woman in front of her or like the rest of the lean and athletic Royal Guards. It was just another thing that made her stand out.
The woman placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head to examine the dress. For a moment, Kolfinna thought she would laugh at the fit and how it made her look frumpy, but she surprised her by saying, “Hm, maybe a blue ribbon would match better than the pink? I can find you one after the meeting if you’d like.” She leaned forward to inspect the dress closely and when her gaze flew up to Kolfinna’s face, they widened. “Oh, wow! It’s just like they said! You have pink eyes!”
Her tone … didn’t sound mocking. Surprisingly.
Kolfinna threaded her hands together so tightly the knuckles became a bloodless white. This was the first time a human had seen her natural eye color, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. She almost felt naked.
“It’s a beautiful color,” the woman said when she noticed Kolfinna’s hesitation. She grinned widely, showing off her sparkling, albeit slightly crooked, teeth. “I had no idea the fae had different eye colors.”
“All fae have colorful and vivid eyes,” Kolfinna found herself saying. She really should’ve stopped and not told the woman any fae facts that could be used against her, but the woman’s seemingly genuine reaction kept her going. “It ranges between gold, pink, purple, blue, and green …” She cleared her throat and glanced at the woman to make sure she was still interested. “The colors are typically brighter than a human’s.”
“Can you see better?”
“I don’t know.” Kolfinna lifted her shoulders, the tension in her chest slowly unknotting itself. “I see what I see, and I don’t know if it’s better or worse for you humans.”
“That’s interesting.” The woman bobbed her head and gestured toward the door. “But how about we talk and walk at the same time? We’re running a bit late.”
Kolfinna followed behind the woman as they entered the hallway. Her stomach twisted nervously as she looked from the woman to her surroundings. Tall sets of doors with gold handles mirrored each other on either side of the long and wide hallway. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was walking to her doom; everyone would jump on her like vultures and tear her apart.
“My name’s Eyfura, by the way,” the woman said.
“I’m Kolfinna.”
“I know.” Eyfura laughed, and it was pleasant to the ears. “Everyone here knows who you are.”
Silence engulfed the space between them. Eyfura’s glossy black boots clacked with every step as opposed to Kolfinna’s soft shuffles. The slippers she wore barely fit either; the dress was too tight, but the slippers too big. She could imagine herself tripping and falling and making a fool of herself in the meeting. Maybe the guards did that on purpose—to make her feel even more uncomfortable.
“No need to be so nervous,” Eyfura said. “Everyone’s here for work.”
“I’m not nervous,” she lied.
“All right.” They stopped at a towering door and Eyfura twisted the gilded, lion-head knob before Kolfinna could mentally prepare herself.
She half expected a dungeon or a room full of guards sharpening their fancy swords and exchanging snobby tales about their wealth and status, but there was nothing of that sort. There were guards, yes, but the hum of their conversation seemed to follow mundane topics—like which jam from the side table was better, blueberry or strawberry? And there was no sharpening of sinister blades; they instead picked at the array of crusty bread, jams, and cookies sitting on porcelain plates. The guards either sat on the velvet couches arranged around a glass tea table, or stood beside the table of snacks. If they weren’t wearing their uniforms, they would’ve looked like ordinary people.
But they weren’t ordinary people—not in the slightest.
Kolfinna remained rooted in place; her body refused to move forward past the threshold and into the throng of guards. Her right leg weighed her down and she glanced at the end of the hallway; a thick, tight-knit, and rich-colored rug spread down the hallway in an unending line. She imagined herself running along it, but she knew they would catch her before she could make it to the bend of the hall.
“You okay?” A light hand rested on her shoulder.
Kolfinna gave a small nod and Eyfura waved her forward. Kolfinna stepped into the room, careful not to trip over her right leg with her oversized slippers. The door clicked shut behind them with finality, and Kolfinna forced herself not to turn back and run. She calmed the torrent of nausea building in her stomach and searched the crowd for familiar faces. She recognized Mímir, Magni, and Fenris.
A young man around her age bounded toward her immediately; he held two steaming, white porcelain cups delicately by the handles with his forefingers.
“Eyfura!” The young man stopped in his tracks and held out the cup. “I was thinking you’d never show up.” His full head of dark honey-blond hair brushed along his shoulders messily. Green eyes sparkled with excitement and he held the other cup for Kolfinna. “Apparently there’s going to be a fae here. Did you hear about it? I’ve never seen one.”
