Princes with dark pasts, girls out for vengeance, and creatures with a thirst for blood. These trials may live up to their name: they just might cause Belline's death.
That'll put a damper on her summer plans.
⚘
[highest rank: #7 in bodyimage]
[...
Everything was white. Almost blinding. And it was cold and heavy, so unlike the warm darkness from before. Rather than floating, it felt like gravity.
The silence disappeared. My ears rang, the noise growing until it hurt, then it stopped. A quiet beeping tickled my ears, rhythmic like a heartbeat.
I smelled honey, cinnamon, and something citrusy. It reminded me of Eternity. As I heaved in breath after breath, I thought about that crazy dream. All those trials, all that exhaustion, all that beauty, now gone.
At last, my eyes fluttered open. I blinked against the light, waiting for my eyes to adjust. I focused on the vaulted ceiling above me: geometric designs and intricate carvings of flowers. My eyes roamed the walls and landed on the blanket that covered me. My arm rested atop it, a tube inserted at my wrist. I followed the tubing to what looked like a mirror. Projected on the black glass were the data of my vitals.
My eyebrows lowered. This wasn't a hospital. The medical equipment was different, the floor checkered red and black, and the window showed a sky of gold and silver.
Gasping, I sat up. My body ached and protested. My breath came in spurts between coughs. My eyes watered.
"Maiden!" Someone rushed to my side. I heard clicks and clatters, and then something cold pressed to my lips.
Water poured into my mouth and I drank desperately. I put the glass down and sighed. "Thank you."
Eika stood at my bedside. With her green, scaly skin, eyes that looked in opposite directions, and moppy brown hair, she was strangely familiar and motherly, and my imagination couldn't have created her.
Tears pricked my eyes. "Why am I here?" I rasped.
"Shh." She placed a comforting hand on my arm. Her smile became soft. "You've been through a lot. Rest. Then we'll talk."
I shook my head. "I don't understand—"
"I know." She stroked my hair. "Sleep first. When you wake up, I'll explain everything. Okay?"
My lips pursed, but I was too tired to argue. Instead, I lay back down and settled into the blankets. Eika made sure I was comfortable, checked the reading of my vital signs, and left the room.
As my eyes fluttered shut, I thought I saw a figure hovering near the doorway. And I thought it was the Prince.
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My skin was unmarred: no cuts, no bruises, no scars. I ran my fingertips over my ribs and stomach, where there should have been marks. But I just felt the texture of my skin, like it had never happened.
I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair fell in gentle waves to my shoulder blades, and my eyes blazed blue. Aside from the deep circles beneath my eyes, you would have no idea I had fought an impossible creature not long ago.
