Captive of the Shadows (The Fairy Code Book #1) by Kaitlyn Weiss

Chapter Three

"So what does that mean?" I said, intrigued. What should I smell like, then? A thirst for knowledge?

"Well, either you'll die or you'll adapt to Ruadh. Doran will find out."

What a thing to say. I mean, how very encouraging.

I totally lost my appetite, but Aderyn was hovering over me. For some reason, I believed what she'd said: she could absolutely force feed me. And if I were to spit the food out, she'd bring me something else and make me eat it. Doran's orders were clearly not open to debate here.

"And you're so frail," said Aderyn. I pretended to occupy myself with the meat, which tasted like quail and melted in my mouth. It was good, but I ate just to get it over with.

Maybe I looked frail, but I really wasn't. Most important, I was smart.

"I don't know how long before he'll use you up," Aderyn went on. "Doran is a tireless lover, and humans, they say, are weak."

I almost spat out the food: what's up with this stuff about a lover?! Hello, who said anything about sex? Or was this a unilateral decision on his part?

Needless to say, after Aderyn left, I was beside myself. Despite my weakness and the headache, which had returned, I jumped up and, wrapped in a blanket, paced around the room. Damn, damn, damn! Fortunately, the window was again closed off, otherwise I would have lost the meal that I'd miraculously managed to keep down.

The light in the room was muted, golden. Pacing back and forth, I suddenly noticed how shadows were gathering in one corner. And I immediately guessed that I'd been ratted on.

When Doran, still clad only in his pants, materialized out of the thick darkness, I told him:

"If you touch me, I'll hold my breath, got it? Or I'll beat my head against the wall. Or I'll come up with something else."

And then I froze, waiting for a show of strength or something worse. But there was something strange about Doran, insofar as anything could be strange at this point. He shrugged his shoulders and ... began to peel off his trousers, under which there was nothing but his naked body. I stared wide-eyed, realizing that now, apparently, it didn't matter what I wanted – sex was on the agenda. This was eloquently communicated by the erect shaft straining upwards. It was interesting how devoid of hair Doran's body was. It was like he was carved out of hard wood. Every muscle was clearly etched and spoke of the incredible strength wielded by the King of Ruadh.

"The choice is yours," he said, meanwhile casually dropping his pants on the floor, where they melted into a dark cloud, "You can lay here for a week, puking and passing out from pain all over your body, or you can get into bed and tomorrow you will feel a lot better. My energy will help you adapt faster. How do you call it ..." — a smile slid across his lips.

"Lust," I said.

"Symbiosis," Doran corrected me.

With obvious pleasure he settled into the bed, which suddenly seemed to shrink in size. It was quite small.

The nausea intensified, and for some reason I ached around my kidneys. Well, at least the wrist with my bracelet "brand" didn't hurt anymore, but it itched.

"Hey, you said that since I didn't die right away, that means I'm adapting!"

"Yes, that's right. Only you can adapt the slow, painful way, or you can do it the easy, fast way."

"I don't want to have sex with you!"

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in sex tonight," Doran yawned. "I'm already sated, so I'm just going to sleep. But remember, Rory, I am asking you for the first and last time. After this, I will not put up with any protestations on your part."