Page 228 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“I lost my memories?” I balked, eyes widening as I scoured the room again—regal paintings, bookshelves packed with leather spines stamped in gold, rugs I somehow knew were valuable.

“For now. But they should come back in time. We were sisters once,” she purred, shifting her weight as though she might touch me before thinking better of it and crossing her arms instead. “That was a long time ago, though.”

“You said I ascended?” I asked, blinking as the world spun again, my stomach rolling faintly. “Ascended into what?”

I knew, though. Some deep-buried part of me knew I should understand. Her tight smile confirmed it.

“I’m Marlana—friends call me Marley.”

“Are we friends?”

“Someday, hopefully. Look, Elly,” she said firmly, as though she meant to hide the hope blooming in her eyes when she settled a hand on my ankle over the plush comforter. “I know you have a lot of questions. We have much to discuss. But for now, you need to drink and eat—you’ve been out for a while. Ascension takes work, my darling, and you did a great deal of it.”

I blinked. Twice. Three times. Had I been here before?

“Where am I?” I asked again.

“Home, sweet girl. Home. I mean, should you choose it. This place is called Bellpost.”

Something pulled taut in my chest, like a string stretched too far.

I wanted to ask about Rory. Wanted to and yet…

Somehow, I had the impression I didn’t want this woman to know about her. Before my mind could catch up to my mouth, I blurted, “August?”

Marlana scowled, concern pinching her brows as she dipped her head to catch my eyes. “Who’s August?”

“I… I don’t know,” I realized, blinking. Pity painted the woman’s features, tightening something in my chest. I might not remember much, but I knew I hated that.

“Did you have a family, Elly? Before they took you?”

“Who took me?” I asked so quickly I was shocked she understood me.

“We found you drugged and starving in a brothel, El. The other girls said you just stopped eating. Like you were trying to kill yourself the slow way or something,” she lamented, shaking her head. “We almost didn’t make it. But… if you had a family, we can try to find them for you. Let you see them. Cast wards around their homes. So—did you? Have a family, I mean?”

Emerald-green eyes set against tan skin and a sharp nose, marred only by the slight crook of an old break, flashed through my mind. A cabin on a lake. Rough hands moving over flushed, desperate flesh.

And yet…

And yet I didn’t really want her knowing about him either, so I just shook my head. “I’m dizzy,” I admitted. “I don’t feel right.”

“Ascension does that. You’ll be right as rain as soon as we get some food into you.”

Nodding, I did my best to smile, even as her answering expression made the hair on my neck stand on end. Looking beyond elated, Marlana rose gracefully.

Her dress hugged every curve as she motioned to another, just as blood-red, lying across the end of the bed. “Fresh clothes. The washroom is right through there. I’ll wait for you in the parlor, alright? Call for me if you need anything.”

I nodded, mostly hoping she’d leave, relieved when she did. As fast as I could manage on shaking legs, I tore the room apart—looking, searching, trying to fit the pieces together, to understand what was happening.

My search was fruitless—save for leaving the pristine room in chaos. I tore apart the bathroom next, finding nothing that didn’t implicitly belong. Linens, soaps, some fancy-looking glass bottles in the shower.

I gave myself a sniff and recoiled—I was ripe.

Hurriedly, I went through the motions of a shower.

When I slipped into the red dress Marlana had left for me, I was surprised to find it fit like a glove. I cocked my head, studying my reflection with narrowed eyes as my fingers wove my damp hair into plaits, pinning them into a tight updo to keep it off my neck. Apparently, my muscles remembered how to do that, too.

Someone knocked at the door but didn’t wait for an answer.