Ethereal

Chapter 9

A day later, I stood outside of the door of one person I never thought I would be asking for help. I had managed to slip through the halls unnoticed thanks to my black doublet and hood. I raised my hand to knock on the massive door.

There was only silence for a few seconds. Finally, the door clicked and opened partly. I pulled back my hood as Lark stuck his head out.

"The proposal date has been moved up—" I stopped, taking in Lark's appearance.

His hair was messy and his shirt only half on.

"Oh," I said, realizing what he'd been doing. This had been a massive mistake. "I'm sorry. I'll come back later."

"Faye? What's going on?"

I paused. Had he really just called me Faye?

I hated to admit it, but I actually liked it when he did. It reminded me of my former self. When I had been just a human.

"It's obvious you're busy. I don't want to bother you."

"I'm not busy." Lark looked back into his room.

"You're not?"

"Nope." He opened the door more. I cautiously stepped inside.

Just as I'd thought, though, a girl was lying in his bed. She had bright green hair and sharp cheekbones. Thankfully, she was still mostly clothed. I was not sure why that relieved me so much.

The green-haired girl yelped when she saw me.

"Get out," Lark ordered her.

The girl looked between us before hurriedly grabbing her corset from the floor. She shot me a look as she passed me.

The door clicked closed. "It seems like you were busy."

Lark shook his head. "She's nobody."

"I'm sure she's not," I reasoned.

"Can we please move on now?"

"Fine."

I moved further into his chambers. The rooms themselves were dark and drab with all of their drapes closed. They looked like the light had been drained from them, and knowing Lark, he may very well have done that.

"Your room is so dark," I noted, stating the obvious.

Lark shrugged. "Does that bother you?"

I turned back him. "Well it looks like you're living in a cave. Last time I checked, you weren't a bat."

Lark smirked. "Maybe I am."

"Oh, come on. You need at least some light." Without even asking, I pulled back one of the black draperies covering a massive glass wall. Light from the lanterns outside flooded the room. Lark's ebony bed now lay in a pool of light. "See? Much better."

"Hmmm. It's definitely different."

I laughed. "Now all you need is a couple of plants, and you will have successfully converted to the Court of Vines."

Instead of laughing back, though, Lark's eyes flitted to an empty pot that sat on the floor next to the window.

"Have you had a plant in here before?" I asked. This seemed completely uncharacteristic of him.

"My mother gave me that plant. After she died, well, it seemed to die with her." Lark shifted uncomfortably, running his fingers through his mussed up hair.