The Bazaar (Fae's Captive #6) - Lily Archer Page 0,2

side of the store room.

I blink against the sun’s assault. Then blink some more at the opulence around me. A shimmering fountain sits in the middle of the room, its square edges adorned with colorful tiles. Large trees with wide leaves are planted at intervals beneath the open ceiling, though there are plenty of shady areas with divans and floor pillows strewn about in a calculatingly casual way.

It’s a rich oasis, one that doesn’t fit with the brute and the changeling slaves I just met. “How do former slaves afford all this?”

Eldra doesn’t answer, just leads me around the splashing fountain and into a side room with golden furniture in front of a dressing area. The rugs beneath my feet are far more luxurious than anything I was allowed to step on in Byrn Varyndr, and the dresses hanging in the open closet are worth more than any scrap of cloth that has ever touched my skin. “Does a queen live here?” I glance around, but no one else seems to be home.

“Something like that.” She escorts me deeper into the house until we come to a room with a white tile floor and a round pool in the center. Lavender and honey perfume the air and little swirls of heat eddy on the surface of the deep blue water. “Get in. Parnon was right about your smell.” She wrinkles her nose.

“Like you’ve never smelled of unicorn backside.” I huff, but lick my lips as I stare at the water. I deliberate for a moment, the pool beckoning like a sparkling oasis. Gareth will be here soon. I may as well be clean when he arrives. Right? So, it definitely makes sense to take a bath in my kidnapper’s fancy tub. For sure. Glad that’s all settled. With no fanfare, I strip out of my dirty clothes and take a hesitant step into the water. A moan works its way out of me, and I fall into the pool, the warmth like a friendly hug. “Come in, oh mean-faced one, the water’s fine.” I send a splash toward Eldra.

She crosses her arms and looks unamused. Sourpuss.

I sink beneath the surface and let the lavender and honey go to work on my face, my hair, every bit of me. A snort escapes when I think of what this bathtub’s owner will do when she sees it full of the muck that’s sloughing off my body.

When I surface, a tray of food and a tall glass pitcher of water sit on the edge of the tub. Eldra isn’t in sight, but I can sense her lurking nearby, perhaps in the fancy dressing room just beyond.

“Gareth here yet?” I grab the pitcher, ignore the cup next to it, and drink huge gulps of water.

“Slow down. You’ll make yourself sick.” Her voice is close.

I take a few more gulps, set the pitcher down, then grab some funny little triangles of crisp bread? Sort of like a big cracker, and there’s no butter, but I’m not going to quibble. I take a bite and am pleasantly surprised with how good it is.

“Use the dip.”

I glance around but can’t see Eldra. Taking her advice, I dunk the cracker-like yummy into a bowl of beige-looking dip and sample it. Delicious. Gareth would love this. He has to be starving after our trip, especially since he gave me all the good stolen food. When he would drink water from the skins, sometimes a bead of it would roll down his throat, tracing along his stubble and into the smooth skin. I press my thighs together when I think about licking it off him. Focus, Beth. Food first, naughty thoughts later.

I dig in, eating and drinking while floating around in the deep tub. By the time I’m finished, my hair is clean, my stomach is full, and I’m desperate for a nap.

“Towel?” I call.

“Next to the door.”

“Oh.” I climb out of the tub and take the white towel hanging from the sand-colored wall. It smells of citrus, so naturally, I rub it all over me and keep pressing my face into it and inhaling.

Eldra clears her throat. “If you’re done sniffing the laundry, come get dressed.”

I wrap the towel around me, covering the worst of my scars, and prance into the dressing room. “What do I wear?”

She gestures at the closet. “Pick whatever you want.”

“Why can’t I have pants and a buttony shirt like yours?” Her attire is far more fitting for my journey to the mines than all