Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1) by Alexia Purdy (complete)

Chapter Twelve

The murmur of voices amplified in the growing light of the morning. Shade moaned and wished she'd thought of bringing earplugs. Rolling over, she stuffed her pillow over her head, hoping to muffle the noise. It can't be morning already! It felt like she'd just laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes. Hiking was definitely not on her cool list right now. Her muscles ached and burned.

"Shade, get up. We have to pack and get going. I brought you breakfast. You're going to need it." She felt her pillow fly off her face. Dylan stood crouched at the entrance of her tent, his lips tight with disapproval. He looked wide-awake, making her wonder how long he'd been up. Was it possible he didn't need to sleep? He motioned to a plate of food and drink lying by her. In an instant, he was gone.

Shade blinked and rubbed her eyes. Stuffing the pillow under her neck, groaning and wanting more sleep, disappointment ran through her mind. Sleep was a pleasure of the past now, something she couldn't quite remember having enough of. She glanced at the food he brought; bacon and fresh scrambled eggs with a bread roll were still steaming. It looked amazing and smelled even better.

This coaxed her out of her warm bed as she pulled the food and drink toward her. Inhaling the savory aromas, she was amazed at how hungry she was. Slurping down the sweet, warm tea that Dylan provided made her instantly feel more alert. She wondered what was in that drink; it was always so revitalizing. She'd have to ask someone. Besides, it was curious how they managed to have bacon and eggs so fresh out here in the wild. Munching on the rich, thick slices of bacon, she enjoyed every bit.

Well, this is my one pleasure out here in this hellhole. Shade sighed, frowning at her empty plate. The food was gone much too fast. Good things just do not last around here. She stretched and fumbled through her bag, pulling her brush, washcloth and towel out, and hoped there was somewhere to wash up. She yanked on her shoes then wrapped the blanket around her like a cape.

Stepping out into the cold morning air was like being electrocuted. It stung her cheeks and sent a thrill down her body. Yay, winter weather. She wondered how it seemed to be a different season every place they went in the faery lands. It didn't seem possible it was spring back home.

Walking up toward the central fire, she looked around. She wanted to find and ask Braelynn or Sary where she could wash up, but Soap popped up in front of her instead. He grinned at her, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Where do you think you're sneaking off to, young lady?"

Shade froze in her tracks, her face flushing and feeling guilty without reason to. Tilting her head, she gazed back upon his still smiling but suspicious face.

"I'm not sneaking off anywhere. I just want to get cleaned up. You wouldn't happen to know where I could, um, go to uh, freshen up?" Her face flushed up scarlet once more under the cold air. Soap wasn't the one she'd wanted to ask.

"It's down that side of the hill a bit. It's a large red tent. Girls on the right, boys to the left." He winked, spun and trotted back to the camp. Shade gaped at him as he walked—no...skipped—away cheerfully. She shook her head. She couldn't get over how strange he was. They hadn't spoken much since they arrived at the Teleen caverns, making her wonder if he was just cautious with her since it was a Teleen who attacked her. It was something she'd have to talk to him about later.

She turned back in the direction he had pointed her to, gripping her supplies. Approaching the bathroom tent made her stop in confusion. It didn't look like anything special; the flaps were wind-worn and faded. She wondered how it was even big enough to hold two dressing rooms, let alone anything close to a washroom. She shrugged, too tired to contemplate it for long, and willed herself to get moving.