Daughter of Ice and Fire

Thirty-Two

Lihleih rolled on her side and pulled the blanket over her head. Gods, was she tired of waking up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there while feeling like she would rather be dead. Her head felt like it weighed a thousand stone, her limbs felt all out of proportion, and her eyes were gritty and dry. She felt sluggish as well, like she was trying to force her way through molasses, and she was having a lot of trouble putting coherent thoughts together. Fortunately, the bed, while not as comfortable as the one at Imril's, was better than most of the ones she had slept in. Snuggling down, she tried to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth and struggled to sink back into the blissful darkness. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas.

When her tongue finally pulled away, it felt like a layer of skin came with it. Uttering a small cry, she curled herself tighter, which only seemed to upset her stomach. Clenching her eyes tight, she tried to force herself back to sleep. And failed miserably.

Cursing, she rolled back over and flung the blanket back. Sitting up, she grabbed her head in her hands when it began to pound. Rocking slightly, she silently asked her patron Dinaos what she had done to deserve this.

"My lady has decided to join the world of the living, I see."

Lihleih's head popped up as she sought the source of the voice.

"You!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing as her hands dropped in her lap. "Why did you kidnap me? And where the hell am I?"

Averit took in her disheveled state, and he quickly looked away when his eyes lit on her bodice. But not before Lihleih had seen. Grabbing the blanket, she pulled it up, holding it to her chest with one hand.

"Stop staring. Gods, have you never seen a woman before?" Two bright spots of color bloomed on her cheeks. She felt the spark kindle and tamped it down. Until she knew where she was and why this man had taken her, she couldn't afford to let the Rage take over. "Now answer the question."

"Of course, I've seen a woman before. Plenty in fact." Averit smiled lazily, waving a hand as if bored.

"Not that question!" she snapped angrily. "The other two."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so?" Averit was now inspecting his fingernails, ignoring her completely.

Lihleih ground her teeth in frustration. She started to climb out of bed then remembered his stare and thought better of it. Hearing her muffled curse, he looked up and watched with amusement, making her grind her teeth even harder.

"Can you please just tell me where I am? And why I'm here?"

"I thought you wanted to know who I was?" He went back to inspecting his fingernails.

Lihleih fought the urge to throw something. "I know who you are. You're the man I faced off against at the fair. The one I beat."

Averit looked back at her, his eyes dancing. "Yes. And the one who made sure you escaped. You can thank me any time now."

"Fat lot of good it did me," she declared, punching a pillow. "Do you have any idea what happened to me afterward?"

"Yes, Lihleih of Swanhaven, I do."

Lihleih jerked. The man was no longer laughing at her. In fact, he was watching her intently, all signs of amusement gone.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" she asked quietly, suppressing a shudder of fear.

"You don't remember? No, I guess you wouldn't. You were in pretty bad shape the last time I saw you."

Lihleih stared. Something about the voice was familiar. Closing her eyes, she tried to place it. And then she knew. Her eyes flew wide and she glared. "You were the person outside my cell, right?" When he nodded, she hissed again. "Where are my knives?"