Ruler [Blood Magic, Book 3]

Chapter 11: No Light, No Light (revised)

I tensed the moment I awoke. Something had interrupted my sleep - a sound? a bad dream? a message from the bond? I wasn't sure - but combined with the skittishness that had taken root following Keel's visit, it was enough to send my heart racing double time. I kept my eyes closed, my breathing deep and steady, and listened to my surroundings. The compound's circulation system hummed its monotonous hum, the elevator whirred somewhere deep in the belly of the building, but nothing else made a sound. 

I reached out with the bond for Keel. A gentle "where is he?", hopefully not enough to make him aware I was looking. He was several storeys above me, still in the storage facility. Weird. Shouldn't a king be sitting on his throne, taking care of royal business? What the hell was he doing up there?

Well, better there than here, I thought, and released the tether.

I gave another careful listen to the room: still tomb-like. Clearly my "danger!" reflexes were operating on overdrive. I opened my eyes and a million tiny invisible dangers thrust themselves in. I slammed my fists into their sockets. Owwwww. What the? Ugh, the contacts. I'd slept with the contact lenses in.

I cracked my eyelids a sliver, as much as I could bear, and made for the bathroom. Its entrance was disguised by the wood panelling and built-in shelving that surrounded the bedroom portion of the suite, but I'd spent enough time here to know where the latch was to trigger the door, even half-blind. I stepped into the sterile white room, which delivered a further assault on my stinging retinas, cranked the faucet wide open, and splashed cold water on my face. The relief was mild, but enough for me to pry open my eyelids, and wrestle out the coloured contacts. I deposited them in the garbage bin to the right of the porcelain pedestal sink. They landed at bottom and stared back up at me accusingly. I tore off a piece of toilet paper and tossed it in on top of them. There was no need for disguises here. And I didn't need any more judgement.

I studied my face in the mirror. Despite having slept like the dead, my skin was pale and blotchy, the bags under my eyes made them look almost as sunken as Keel's and my hair framed my face in a mop of limp strands. Blood loss, overuse of magic, they'll do these things to you. The only thing that seemed brighter than usual were the rings around my irises. But I might have been imagining that. This place was already screwing with my head.

I eyed the shower, but I wanted to double check the main room - and on Keel one more time - before I shed my clothes and climbed in. I padded back to the bedroom area and surveyed the suite. The lights were still on, and I was alone.

Something was different, though: a folding TV table had been set up beside the elevator, it held a spread of food and some papers.

A shiver raced along my spine. The food meant that someone had been here while I'd slept and I hadn't so much as stirred. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I berated myself, having no idea of what I could have done differently. Exhaustion would always win. 

I crossed the room to the food. It resembled the platters served when I'd been imprisoned below; it held several kinds of meats, vegetables and fruits, with the noted difference that it came with proper cutlery, napkins and a full pitcher of water instead of just a glass. When I picked up the tray, the papers pinned beneath it fluttered to the floor. I put it back down and bent to pick them up. The text resembled a menu, but instead of dishes, it was a list of various foods, each with two boxes beside them to indicate whether I liked them or not.

I stared at the list for a long time, not knowing what to make of it. I was pretty sure this was a kindness drawn up just for me, but on whose orders? And why? Keel had hadn't exactly given the impression that he cared for my general comfort. I placed the pages back down on the folding table and took the food to the desk to eat.