It wasn’t in her bed and she wasn’t in her own clothes. She wore a long, pale pink nighty.
Scarlett thought back to the night before. Her fight with Ashleigh, the party, and Cade. She remembered the lightness she felt when she was with him. She also remembered leaving her realm and entering his.
Realm. She was in a different realm. What had she done?
Alone, her brain felt clearer. The emptiness inside her thrummed. Not only had she lost her mom, but now her sister didn’t even want to speak to her. She was probably better off in a different realm. Maybe her sister would regret blaming Scarlett for everything. Or maybe she’d be glad Scarlett was gone. Either way, Scarlett was somewhere else now. She may never see her sister again.
The idea should freak her out. Maybe she’d read too many vampire stories, but she wasn’t surprised that a whole other world existed. There had been times she’d see someone lurking that others paid little attention to. Scarlett could feel something different about them, but she couldn’t say what exactly. She didn’t want people to think she was a freak. Like her mom. The thought punched Scarlett, but it was true. To most of the world, her mom’s visions of people who weren’t there and erratic behavior made her crazy. What made Scarlett think her sense about people was any different? Now she wondered if she’d been right all along.
This world was far more luxurious than the one Scarlett was from. The room she was in came straight out of the fairytale book Scarlett’s mother read to her as a child—when she was on her medication, that was. Scarlett had always loved fairytales. The gold walls had dark wainscoting, and candles littered the room, though none were burning.
As a child, Scarlett wanted to be a princess swept off her feet by Prince Charming. When she got older, she quit reading the tamed versions and moved to the darker ones. Where Sleeping Beauty was raped by a king. Cinderella’s sister cut off her toe to fit into the slippers. And the evil queen in Snow White was forced to dance in burning hot shoes until she dropped dead. Actual life was messy. Fairytales should be, too. Prince Charming didn’t come to the rescue. Throwing a penny in a wishing well didn’t make your dreams come true. Scarlett would know.
Scarlett pulled the silk sheet up to her shoulders. The soft material slid against her skin. She closed her eyes and sank her head into the feather pillow. It smelled like lavender. She wasn’t a princess, but she would enjoy this moment as if she were.
“Morning.” Cade entered the room. Today’s outfit was very different than yesterday’s. At the party, he looked like any other of the guys there. Today, he looked like a sixteenth century prince, in black boots and pants and a long, black leather coat with gold accents. “Peony will be in to help you get ready.”
“Ready?” Scarlett sat up in the bed. “For what?”
“To meet my mother.”
Meet his mother? That seemed quite a big step after one night. They didn’t even do anything but sleep. Cade put his hand on her shoulder. Scarlett’s nerves faded.
“Don’t worry. My mother just likes to meet any humans I bring into Faerie.”
A woman, dressed in a modest gray dress, entered the room. Unlike Cade, her ears were round like Scarlett’s. She must have been human.
“This is Peony. She will find you a dress and help you bathe.”
Peony curtsied to Cade as he left. Her long silver hair was pulled into a bun. “Come,” she said and then went through a door in the corner of the room.
Scarlett shivered when she got out of the bed. She rubbed her arms as she followed Peony into the largest bathroom she’d ever seen. Marble covered the floors. The claw foot tub underneath the stained-glass window could fit three of Scarlett into it. Peony turned on the bath water. She left the water running and stood next to Scarlett. She held out her hand. “Your nightgown, Miss.”
Now Scarlett really felt like a princess. Someone to run her bath water and take her clothing from her. Scarlett pulled the nighty over her head and handed it to Peony. Her nakedness made her modest, but Peony didn’t pay any attention. Scarlett waited until the bathtub was half full and then stepped inside. The hot water warmed her as she sank into it. She relaxed as the tub filled, then Peony helped her wash her hair and back. It was a strange combination of awkward and wondrous. As Peony rinsed the soap off of Scarlett’s shoulders, Scarlett asked, “You’re a human, right?”
“Yes, Miss.” Peony poured water on Scarlett’s neck.
“And you help Cade?”
“I belong to Miss Kassandra.”
“Cade’s mom?”
“Yes.”
Belong. A strange word to use. Peony didn’t work for her. She belonged to her. Like a slave? Scarlett wanted to ask more, but she didn’t want to offend Peony. After she finished the bath, Peony wrapped Scarlett in a plush towel. “I’ll be right back, Miss.”
While Scarlett waited, she looked at her reflection in a mirror on the wall. Her long hair waved from its wetness. The water had washed away her makeup. The bags that had been under her eyes had halved in size since yesterday thanks to the full night of sleep. Her skin appeared brighter than normal. Peony returned and helped Scarlett into a floor length mauve dress. Sparkles covered the bust. Scarlett sucked in as Peony tightened the corset.
The bottom of the dress brushed the floor as Scarlett walked back to the bedroom. Peony gestured for Scarlett to sit on the bed, and then she put a pair of gray heels on Scarlett’s feet.
“How long have you been here?” Scarlett asked.
“With Miss Kassandra?”
“Here in this realm.”
“For three years.”
Peony moved on to Scarlett’s hair. She brushed out all the tangles. “I’m not crazy, like I’m sure you’re thinking,” Peony said. “My old life wasn’t worth living. Miss Kassandra takes my pain from me, and I serve her in return.”
What could be so bad that being a servant was the better option? If Cade would take away all Scarlett’s pain, would she do whatever he asked? She hoped not.
And what exactly did he expect of her?
Scarlett thought of her mother. She wished more than anything to have her mother back again. That wasn’t possible, though, and she couldn’t even think of her mom without a tightening in her chest. If Cade could take that away, Scarlett wasn’t sure she could say no.
Great, the stab in her chest was back.
Once Scarlett’s hair was twisted into a bun, Peony dabbed some makeup on her face. Soon after, Cade was back to escort Scarlett to meet Kassandra. As soon as he stepped in the room, her pain dulled.
“You look lovely,” Cade said as he locked his elbow with Scarlett’s.
They walked arm in arm down the hall. Scarlett admired the pictures that hung on the wall. Most were portraits of beautiful beings, but some were of trees and rivers and other landscapes. After climbing a staircase, they went down another hallway and arrived at Kassandra’s room.
A man with a sword at his belt stood outside the door.
“We’re here to see my mother,” Cade said.
The man stepped aside and let them enter. This room was even larger than the room Scarlett had been in. On the far side, a large window covered over half the wall, from the floor to the tall ceiling. Kassandra lounged on a chaise in front of it.
“Dearest son,” she said in a smooth voice as she stood. “Who have you here?” Kassandra wore a metallic dress that was neither gold nor silver, but a shade in between. The bust pushed up her breasts, which were framed in a square neckline and puff sleeves. A gold crown sat atop her head.
Scarlett curtsied. Or tried to curtsy, at least. She’d never had to be so proper before. Hopefully curtsying was normal here. Kassandra returned the curtsy with one herself. Scarlett relaxed.
Cade released his arm from hers and stepped away. “Scarlett, meet my mother, the Summer Queen.”
The Summer Queen? It made sense—Scarlett was in a castle after all. But to meet some inhuman queen took Scarlett’s breath.