17. Lily

The minute we got back to the Cavern of Lolth—which Krynn had led us to using a whole different route, since he seemed to know the whole huge Palace like the back of his hand—I began looking for a mirror. Not because I'm vain—living with Christopher for so many years had firmly hammered into my head that I was nothing special—but because I wanted to examine the differences I'd seen in the mirrored walls of the Throne Room more closely.

I found a mirror behind the folding screen that Krynn had put up to shield me while I was bathing the night before. It was a huge, heavy oval thing in a dark wooden frame—I hadn't noticed it earlier because it was turned to face the wall.

I dragged it around so I could see the reflective surface, huffing and puffing with its weight. I would have asked the guys for help, but they were standing in a corner muttering to each other urgently. I wanted to ask questions about what Mordren had said, but first I wanted to examine myself more closely.

All the way back to the Cavern I had been touching my face—running my fingers over my sharply pointed ears and my new, more delicate features. I needed to absorb the reality of how different I looked before I could deal with anything else. And if you think that sounds shallow, I'd like to see how you'd react if you woke up one morning looking completely different from how you did when you went to bed the night before. Even a positive change takes getting used to.

I spent a good long time just staring at my new face in the mirror. They were still my features, as I said before, just more delicate and beautiful and so much younger. Anyone who knew me would probably look twice to recognize me and then they would assume I'd had some kind of face-lift, I thought. Though I didn't think any plastic surgeon in the world could achieve the amazing results I saw in the mirror.

It was more than just looking younger and prettier—my skin was absolutely flawless—to the point where I couldn't even see my pores. And my hair, with its wild new colors, was thick and lustrous and shiny—it looked like a shampoo ad. My teeth, which had been a bit stained from years of coffee drinking, were now a perfect porcelain white. And my…

But my eyes went back to my teeth. What was going on with them? They didn't seem quite the same, did they? I looked closer, leaning in towards the silvery reflective surface.

Besides being whiter than before, the tips of my canine teeth had gotten a lot sharper and pointier. It wasn't extremely noticeable until you took a closer look, as I was doing, but it was definitely true—it looked like I had baby vampire fangs where my canine teeth used to be.

Experimentally I touched the tip of my tongue to one little point and winced—ouch—it really was sharp! I would have to be careful from now on or I might cut myself on my own teeth—what the hell was going on with that?

I wanted to demand answers, but I wasn't done examining myself. Since I was standing behind the modesty screen, I felt safe enough to take off my jacket and nightgown and robe and look at myself naked.

What I saw made me suck in my breath and almost forget the baby vampire fangs I was apparently growing. It wasn't just my face that looked younger—my body was younger and firmer too!

I hadn't lost any weight—I was still curvy and full-figured—but it seemed like things had shifted around and redistributed. My breasts were most definitely bigger and firmer than they had been since college. My nipples were bigger too and much more sensitive. They almost seemed to throb when I brushed them lightly with my fingertips. Also, they had turned from brownish pink to a kind of pale purple, which was weird and disconcerting, though it did match my hair and eyes.

My hips were bigger too, which made my waist look smaller. My ass was high and firm as though I'd been hitting the gym for hours every day—which was certainly not the case. Perhaps strangest of all, I had lost all my body hair. My armpits and crotch looked like they'd been waxed. Even my legs and arms were completely smooth—was this normal? Did the Dark Fae not have body hair? At least my eyebrows and lashes were still intact.

I stole a glance around the privacy screen at my two Fae companions, who were still arguing quietly, before pulling my head back again. Neither Krynn nor Seldarin had a hairy chest, and I hadn't noticed any other body hair either—mainly because I'd been too busy trying to sneak away that morning when I woke up naked between them. They?—

"My Lady, are you well?"

Krynn's smooth tenor voice made me jump and cover myself instinctively with my arms. Which made me yelp, since my nipples were now so sensitive.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Seldarin's bass voice demanded. Clearly both of them were standing on the other side of the privacy screen, waiting for me to answer.

"I…I'm fine," I said and started to pull the champagne silk nightgown back on. But I found that even that soft material hurt my newly sensitive nipples. I yelped again.

"All right—what the fuck is going on back there?" Seldarin growled. "We can hear the pain in your voice, Princess. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," I insisted again. Pulling the front of the nightgown away from my breasts, I stepped out from behind the screen.

Sure enough, both of them were standing there. Seldarin had his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was frowning while Krynn had an anxious look on his lovely face.

"Fine, are you? Then why are you making noises like a cat that jumped on a hot stove?" Seldarin asked.

"I'm just… a little sensitive—that's all," I said defensively. "Do I really look like this because of what you guys fed me last night?" I asked, gesturing to myself with my free hand—the one that wasn't holding my nightgown away from my breasts.

"The food of our people—of your people—and the Nectar of Lolth have revealed your true form," Krynn said.

"But why do I look so young?" I asked. "I mean, not that I'm complaining, but I look like I'm nineteen again."

"You look young because you are young," Seldarin informed me. "You won't come of age until the Autumn Equinox."

"What? But I'm nearly fifty!" I exclaimed.

"Exactly. You are nearly of age to rule," Krynn said calmly. "Royal Fae and High Fae aren't considered fully mature until they reach the age of fifty. It's just as well that your birthday is near," he added. "Because you cannot ascend the Throne of the Midnight Court until you are mature."

"But this is crazy!" I exclaimed. "I've been an adult for well over half my life now! Hell, I'm probably going to be a grandmother in the next year since my son and his wife are trying to have a baby."

"You must forget the human part of your life," Krynn told me. "You must leave it behind—your true life begins now."

"I can't just forget everything about who I am—who I've been for my whole life," I protested. "And if this is what eating Fae food does to me, then I'm not eating any more of it!"

"Don't be fucking ridiculous," Seldarin growled. "You've got to eat. Even the nearly immortal Fae can be starved to death."

I shook my head.

"I don't think so. What if I ate more of those glowing berries and got even younger? I don't want to become a literal child again!"

"That won't happen," Krynn assured me. "The Nectar of Lolth has revealed your true form already—it won't change again. All that eating Fae fare will do now is to allow you to come into your true power."

"What power? I don't have any power!" I protested. Which was absolutely true—I was probably the least magical person I knew. Or I had been, twenty-four hours ago, I thought ruefully.

"You will." Seldarin's face looked grim. "You'll have more power than any being in the whole fucking Midnight Court—which is why Mordren wants to get rid of you before you can learn to harness and control it."

"What kind of power?" I asked, fascinated despite myself. "Will I be able to call lightning out of the sky like you?" I still remembered his impressive display from the night before. "Or make plants grow in an instant like you?" I asked, turning to Krynn.

Both of them shook their heads.

"Not at first, my Lady—Seldarin has Sky magic and I have Earth magic," Krynn told me. "But you…you will have Blood magic. The most powerful and devastating magic of all."

"Blood magic?" I made a face. "That doesn't sound very appealing."

"It will." Seldarin sounded grim again. "Have your fangs started to grow yet, Princess?"

"My fangs?" Then I remembered how my canine teeth had grown sharp points. I ran the tip of my tongue over one of them again and winced. "Er…how did you know about that?" I asked, frowning.

"Because a Queen descended from Lolth always has the Spider Queen's attributes," Krynn explained.

"And her appetites…and her Thirst," Seldarin said darkly.

"Her thirst? What are you talking about? And what was all that in the Throne Room about you two being the only ones who could ‘slake my thirst?'" I demanded, frowning. "Does that mean you're the only ones allowed to give me water or anything to drink?"

"No, my Lady," Krynn said quietly. "It means that of all the Fae in the Midnight Court, you may only drink from either Seldarin or myself when the Thirst comes on you."

"The thirst for what, though?" I asked apprehensively. I had an idea of the answer, but I was really hoping I was wrong.

"The thirst for blood, of course," Seldarin said roughly. "But that isn't the only thirst that needs quenching," he added and nodded down to where I was still pulling the silky nightgown away from my chest so it wouldn't brush my sensitive nipples.

I could feel myself blushing, my cheeks getting hot.

"What are you talking about?" I asked again.

"True descendants of the Spider Queen have her needs," Krynn said quietly. "Her sexual needs—which are said to be prodigious. They are tied to the Thirst, for the two go hand-in-hand."

"Meaning what—that I'm going to get extremely horny and begin wanting to bite people's necks and drink their blood?" I demanded. "No—that's crazy!"

"It's not crazy—this is your reality now," Seldarin growled, frowning at me. "And the sooner you get used to it, the better for all of us. Especially since Krynn and I are the only ones you're allowed to drink from." He pulled his long black hair out of the way and leaned down to offer me his strongly corded throat. A whiff of ozone mixed with dark male spice filled my nose. "Here—are you thirsty, Princess?"

For a moment my eyes were drawn to the large vein throbbing just under his skin and I could swear that I felt my new little baby vampire fangs itching to pierce his flesh. Then I pushed away from him, shaking my head.

"No—that's not happening. I'm not going to bite either one of you!"

But even as I spoke, my throat felt as dry as sandpaper. What was wrong with me?

"You'll have to eventually," Seldarin said, straightening up.

"Best to wait until the first Quenching tonight," Krynn said quietly.

"You don't think we should at least try to help her take the edge off?" Seldarin raised his eyebrows. "Because I think we fucking should! Otherwise she's liable to kill one of us."

"If I die from the bite of my Queen, I will have served my purpose," Krynn said. "I will take whatever fate she brings to me."

Their words horrified me! Did they really think that I was going to develop a thirst for blood? And that I would get so thirsty for it I would want to bite them and drain them dry?

"This is stupid! Stop talking like this!" I demanded. "I need to get out of here!"

"Yes, you do," Krynn said, unexpectedly agreeing with me. But then he added, "You must make your presence known around the Palace."

"Not looking like that, though," Seldarin added, frowning. "She needs to be dressed like a lady of the Court."

"Leave that to me—I believe the gowns I ordered for the Princess should be ready now," Krynn said. "Let me go and get them and we'll dress her in the latest style. Then everyone will have to acknowledge her Royal blood."