5. Amber

Chapter five

Amber

I awoke with the world’s worst hangover, my vision blurred and head throbbing. It wasn’t until I realized that my mouth wasn’t stuffed with cotton—it was just dry—that I remembered that I had only two beers. It was impossible that I was hung over. And then a heartbeat later I registered a very sore shoulder and remembered that I had turned into a spider snack and then…

“You’re awake,” a soft female voice said from next to me.

I turned my head—it felt like it weighed two hundred pounds—and forced my eyes to brave the light, all to take in a beautiful woman. She was dressed in a crimson gown out of a Renaissance festival, with long sleeves hiding her hands. Silver gilt leaves were embroidered on the sleeves’ edges, working their way around the cuffs in an elaborate dance. The eyeless faces of little skeletons stared at me from a belt around her waist, likely carved from onyx or another black stone. Her dark hair flowed freely to her waist, and her skin was enviously perfect, almost bright with an innate glow. Her lips were a crimson red, painted with a sort of lipstick, and her eyes were lined with black and highlighted by a dark eyeshadow. She didn’t need the cosmetics—she would have been gorgeous regardless—but they took her from beautiful to breathtaking.

Too beautiful. Her pointed ears betrayed what she was—some sort of elf, fairy…thing.

“Where am I?” I asked, my voice breaking. I willed my racing heart to still. If these beings wanted to kill me, they could have just left me with the spider. My memory told me that much. And they also wouldn’t have bothered to place me in the world’s fluffiest bed, complete with a maroon and gold brocade duvet. And they also wouldn’t have bound my shoulder with clean bandages.

Muffled voices told me that there were others in the hall outside the closed door, and the distant chords of mournful violin music worked its way into my ears. I blinked hard, staring out the window, at the tree branches waving their colorful leaves. It was…autumn? How long had I been unconscious? It was summer. It was still summer, right? It had to be. Had to.

The trees were one concern—my room was another. Wherever I was, it was a decoration style I had never seen before. Like Victorian gothic meets Celtic knot chic. The room smelled of crisp fall leaves and a light musk and amber. The white wooden room itself was accented with trim and decorative wood panels that curved gracefully, tips and edges worked into elaborate knots and flourishes. And then there were the skulls, femurs, and skeleton hands that also found their way into various motifs. My own coverlet at first glance appeared to be an elaborately embroidered maroon velvet blanket with little gold designs, until I realized the designs were of skulls. Dark brown stone tiles graced the floors in a whirled pattern, as if there was an elaborate whirlpool on the floor. Alright, this room was nice. Small, but nice. And not a jail cell. And based on the quality of the furnishings, likely not a peasant’s home. I’ve slept at worse places.

Was I some sort of hostage? Such things happened before, like when the orc enclave in Wisconsin had some initial disagreements with their new neighbors. Maybe they were going to patch me up and send me home once they got their seasonings or books or whatever this group wanted.

Ha. Sometimes, I truly amused myself. They weren’t going to let me go.

“You are in the Darkening Woods,” the woman said, her voice lightly accented with something I could only describe as British, but musical, “in the palace of King Vanir of the Darkening Woods. Home of the elves.”

“The what?” I asked. I shifted to sit, noting that I was wearing some fine cotton-like dressing gown—and no bra—but the woman gently pushed me back down. Fighting her would have to wait, as I was going to take a nap as soon as possible. My body told me I had little choice in the matter. “How long have I been here?”

“Around twelve hours,” she replied. “You were badly hurt.”

Yeah, that I knew. I was there.

“When can I go home?” I yawned, using the arm that wasn’t killing me to cover my mouth.

“My name is Siliana,” the woman said. “I’m a member of the king’s court. And my task is to explain the situation to you. We didn’t want to upset you unnecessarily.”

“Please, start by telling me when I can go home,” I said.

“We brought you here from your city—it wasn’t far.” Fuck. So, I was in the fae/fairy/elf forest where Saint Cloud used to be. It could always be worse, I told myself. It could always be worse.

“That’s good to know,” I said, “but when can I go back to my city?”

Her jaw clenched. That was my first clue something wasn’t right. “You were grievously injured by the veinwart.”

“The what?”

“The…spider.”

“Oh. That.” Veinwart? Sounded like a bad villain from a novel, or some sort of disease.

“If Eldrin had not found you,” Siliana continued, “you would’ve died. There is no human medicine that can treat a bite from one of them. You need to recover your strength, too. The bites are notoriously painful. And tiring.”

Wasn’t that right. My shoulder still burned where the spider bit, though it had lessened since the initial attack. However, there was still a heaviness to my blood, a weight in my body that I couldn’t explain. An exhaustion I had to fight to keep at bay. Couldn’t we finish this conversation later? If the elves hadn’t killed me by now, surely, they wouldn’t while I napped. It wasn’t like I was Holofernes, to be killed by an understandably pissed-off woman while I slept. I hoped.

Eldrin. Eldrin…was that the name of the one whose eyes I saw before I passed out? Well, at least I didn’t hallucinate eyeballs. There was a literal silver lining. A very thin silver lining.

“You will rest here,” Siliana said, “and then we will see about obtaining a proper room for you, if you’re not satisfied with this.”

“Room?” I coughed. “Like for staying overnight? Why can’t I go home? You said you healed me. I won’t say anything if that’s the point—I figured you were hiding here for a reason. We’re in that hidden forest, aren’t we, the one that doesn’t let anyone in?” Siliana nodded slowly, confirming my guess. “Trust me, I want less to do with you than you do with me.”

Siliana’s lips pursed and she avoided looking at me. It was oddly reminiscent of the time my mom told me my cat died.

“I’m not allowed to leave, am I? ”

Siliana shook her head. “I’m sorry.” She did look sorry—I had to give her credit for that. “I’m afraid that if you did leave, it would doom us all. And yourself. You’re never going to be allowed to leave here.”

“Ever?”

“Not until something drastic changes.”

Exhaustion mixed with panic swept over me. I couldn’t leave? Well, I didn’t want to leave right this minute. I couldn’t walk now if I tried. But I was stuck? Here? With… them ? My fists clenched. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t…

“I’m sorry,” Siliana said with more kindness than I expected. “I wish it were otherwise.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why can’t I go home?”

Siliana took a deep breath. Her face was even, but her brow was slightly furrowed. She hid it well, but I guessed she was severely uncomfortable at having to explain this to me. She wasn’t the only one. “Two reasons,” she finally said. “The first is that our home and your human world are separated by a barrier, as you noticed—no one and nothing can get in or out without our permission. We decided, when we first realized that our world was swept away, that we would keep the barrier intact and do our best to live as we had before. Our portion of land that came with us isn’t small—we can thrive here, until we can figure out a way back. But the barrier is weakening—we need someone from this world to bond with the barrier to keep it intact. The magic is too unstable otherwise. If one more person passes through…I doubt the barrier would survive.”

“Bond?” I still didn’t understand what this had to do with me staying here forever.

“Magically bond, I mean. It is a simple process. But, it would mean you can never leave,” Siliana said. “Not if we want the magic to hold.”

Wait, me. She was talking about me. I was the human that would be stuck performing elf magic.

Fuck me.

“Ah. So, you want me to be a human anchor. Me.”

“…More or less.” Siliana paused, her hands clasped on her lap, still hidden under the fabric, the digits moving in a slow rhythm.

“There’s something else,” I said warily. There was always something else.

“The bond has to be made willingly. No one can force you to join with our magic. And to ensure that you’re compliant with the ritual…” Siliana closed her eyes, leaving me lots of opportunity to fill in what she didn’t say.

“I’m not all the way healed from that bite, am I?” I asked. Siliana’s eyes widened with surprise. “What? I can tell something isn’t right with me. This feeling—this heaviness—is too much to be from medicine.”

“No, you are not.” She took a deep breath. “Your life is no longer in immediate danger, but you only have around one turn of the moon before it will be too late. The spider’s venom will ultimately freeze your heart, without the cure from the king. Our people are not affected by the venom to the extent other races are, so we have not had much need for an antidote. He is the only one with access.”

“Great.” I rubbed my eyes as I sat up, ignoring the wave of dizziness. “Good ol’ blackmail. This cannot be happening.”

“I’m afraid it is.”

“This is worse than Grand Rapids,” I said, breaking into a chuckle.

“What?”

“That’s where I was supposed to go. Phoebe and Emily and the cat purse said I wasn’t going to have a life there, and look—they were right.”

“I’m sure this is a shock—”

“Oh, it is. But you know what?” I asked. “This is just the sort of thing to happen to me.”

Siliana shifted uneasily. “Well, since you are in shock, as you admitted, I may as well show you the rest.”

“What? What could shock me after this? What could possibly be worse?”

Siliana moved her sleeve and revealed her left hand, which was nothing but glistening white bone.