out, "Who…you?"
The voices ignore me. "Which Aspect do you think it is?" one says.
"Who knows. It could be any."
I try to open my eyes and look at the speakers, but the dim light in the cell fills me with new, fresh pain. This is like the worst hangover and migraine rolled together and I just want it to end.
"Do you think he'll come for her?"
"Without a doubt," the woman says. "We should be ready for him to arrive soon. If she's in pain, he will be, too." There's a swish of robes. "Treat her better. Get her out of this filthy hole. I will not have Aron claiming I mistreated his mortal anchor. Gods have long memories.
"As you wish, my lady Tadekha."
Hands reach for me, and the moment they touch my skin, it sends a sizzle of pain through my body. I fall into blackness once more, screaming.
Always screaming.
It takes a while for me to realize I'm no longer in pain. I remain with my eyes closed, lying down. I don't make any sudden movements in case one of those migraine-from-hell things trigger again. I don't know what caused it before, but I never want that to happen again. My memories of the last few days are vague and my throat hurts like the dickens.
I vaguely remember a visitor. A woman. My thoughts are muddy beyond that, though. A woman, having a conversation about me, and then sliding back into the migraine-of-death.
"My lady, are you awake?"
I frown to myself, wondering who is in the room with me. And…are they talking to me? I've been “tart” and “slave” ever since I got here. I've never been anyone's lady so far. I squeeze one eye open, testing.
No pain. Huh.
The room I'm in is pale white and beautiful. Cool sunlight filters through delicate glittering glass windows that take up an entire wall. I'm no longer resting on hay but on soft woven blankets, and there's a pillow under my head. I still feel grimy and achy with exhaustion, but my circumstances have changed. Slowly, I sit up and look around. "Where am I?"
There's a sound of pouring water, and I flinch automatically, expecting a shockwave of pain at the sound. There is none. Whatever happened to me seems to be gone as mysteriously as it arrived.
"You are in Lady Tadekha's Citadel," a woman answers, and her voice sounds like it's behind a nearby screen. I glance around the room, frowning to myself. It's all pale curtains and pale screens and white everywhere. Not an antiseptic white like a doctor's office, but something a little purer and sweeter. Soft fluffy cloud white.
"Someone brought me here," I say, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed (also white) and onto the marble floors (white as well). "They snatched me from the road I was on and dragged me here against my will. I’m a prisoner.”
The woman makes a soft, absent-minded noise of dismay as if she's sympathizing but doesn't really give a shit. The faint scent of flowers touches the air. "Would you like a bath?"
Gee, thanks for listening to my concerns.
I feel for my belt with my money pouch and my knife, but they're gone. The only thing I'm wearing is my filthy borrowed guard tunic, and it's stinky from days of my sickness. Even if I'm weirded out by this place, I really, really would like a bath. "I think so."
"Come over here then, child. We'll prepare you for your master."
My master?
I test my balance but there's no pain when I get to my feet. It's so strange. I keep expecting everything to hurt but it's like all the pain just decided to up and vanish without reason. I pad forward on the cold floors and move toward the woman's voice, behind the white screen.
Standing there over a deep marble basin for a bath is an angel. I gasp at the sight of her. Holy shit. She really does look like an angel. Her hair is so silvery blonde it looks white. Her skin is milk pale and crystalline wings sprout from her back. She wears a white dress that cascades down to the ground in soft ripples.
My jaw drops at the sight of her. “Am I dead?”
Her mouth quirks. “No, my lady. You are not.”
"Who are you, then?"
She inclines her head. "I am one of Lady Tadekha's priestesses. All of us here at the Citadel serve her. Come. Would you like to bathe?" She gestures at the bath. "The water is