Venom (Book I) ✓

Chapter Nineteen

Red awoke feeling strange. She assessed her state, determining that it was a good feeling. She felt...soft. And clean. From the blankets she was covered with to her loose hair to her skin she felt it. After so long in the woods it felt glorious. Then she moved.

She ached all over, every muscle was in all-out revolt and her head seemed to shriek in defiance. With a groan she abandoned her efforts and laid perfectly still. For a few moments it was nice, then she grew restless. With another groan and a great deal of effort she hauled herself to a sitting position.

"Oh, good. I was beginning to worry that you would never wake."

Cringing, Ruby turned curiously toward the voice. A girl stood in the doorway with a tray in her hands. Glorious scents wafted from it and she felt her mouth begin to water.

"You were quite a mess. I had to clean a lot of blood off of you, especially out of your hair. And you have so many bruises, you certainly do appear to have gone through something terrible."

Ruby watched the tray cross the room and settle on the bed beside her. "A lot of things have happened in the past few days." She answered, distracted.

"Well, I would love to hear about them. Won't you tell me while you eat?" The girl murmured, pushing the tray onto Ruby's lap.

Ruby glanced up at the girl's face in an effort to determine whether or not she should be suspicious of the food. She was met with the sweetest smile she had ever seen and wide, azure eyes.

"Where am I?" Ruby asked, cautiously plucking a piece of bread from the tray.

The girl blinked, her scarlet lips twisted into a surprised frown. "Master Ulric didn't tell you?"

"Master? No-I...what?" She sputtered, the bread stopping halfway to her mouth.

"You are in Master Genevieve's home, which is also Master Ulric's home. He brought you here just last night. You were a bit of a mess, blood in your hair and on your face, really all over. When I asked about it he only shook his head at me."

Ruby took a cautious bite of bread and chewed slowly to give herself time to process all of this. Master Genevieve? Had she heard that name before? It certainly didn't sound familiar.

"But don't worry about that now, relax please, and eat." The girl continued, seeming to read Ruby's silence.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked softly, picking at the bread thoughtfully.

"Oh, of course! How rude of me! My name is Eira. It is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"As well as yours." Ruby answered, more out of habit that sincere politeness.

Eira blinked, clearly surprised, then her face broke into a brilliant smile. "You are a real human lady. Oh, I was so uncertain. You came in dressed like a soldier with blood in your hair and I know how humans make their females avoid the wars."

"Wars? There haven't been any wars for centuries." Ruby cut in wide-eyed.

Eira stopped, looking shocked once more. "You mean...Oh, of course! How could I be so stupid? The human kingdom seems to be doing an exceptional job of hiding it."

"What is 'it'?"

"The war. It is still relatively young, but many have already lost their lives to it." Eira stated sadly.

Ruby sat for a moment in disbelief before beginning to shake her head hard. "That's impossible. How-what...Who is fighting?"

"The humans, to banish all magical creatures from the forest. They claim it belongs to them, we claim it belongs to us, people die, it's dangerous."