Alannah opened her eyes. And shut them again, quickly. I'm dreaming. I have to be. Taking a deep breath, she dared another peek.
Above her soared a glass roof, marbled with violet shadows and dusted with - sparkles? Tall glass columns spiralled up from a white stone floor, each one ornately carved and - again - sparkling. The glittering little dots even covered the throne-like chairs that filled the room. But there were no windows.
Alannah swung her legs off the velvet chaise longue she'd been deposited on and stood. "Where are we?"
"The Fae realm." Dameon leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and protecting a general attitude of grumpiness. Between them stood a long table brimming with more food than she'd seen in her entire life: crusted chicken stuffed with soft cheese and tomatoes; fluffy rice studded with vegetables; doughy flatbreads gleaming with oil; fat coral prawns, still in their shells.
"We shouldn't eat that, right?" she said, sidling closer. Eating in the Fae realm was probably not a good idea.
"Go ahead," said Dameon, who shrugged when she looked at him. "You're already suffused with Fae magic. Better to survive as best you can than starve yourself."
Alannah helped herself to a slice of thin, crispy bread topped with sliced olives and yellow cheese. "Okay," she mumbled, "I am getting the recipe for this." Dameon's mouth curled up at the corner. "So," she added, "how long have we been here?"
"No more than a day," the dragon replied. "Although it's difficult to tell without a gauge."
She took another bite. "Where's Rose?"
"He took her." This came from William, doing his best to wear a hole in the floor. "We need to rescue her. At once."
Alannah finished the appetiser and turned to a plate of grilled rice balls. "How, exactly? We have no idea where she is, no idea where we are, and no idea how to get out of here." She gestured to their prison with a half-eaten ball. "Or do you see a way out?"
William stopped, his lower lip jutting out. "There must be a way."
"Not yet." She cast another glance at the dragon. "Bet you regret tagging along now."
"Not really. I mean - I don't like being in this realm," he admitted, "but I've never been this entertained."
"That's your problem, boredom?"
"I spend most of my time in the sky. Birds aren't that interesting," he said. "You, on the other hand, are incredibly so."
"If you say so," she replied, unimpressed.
He laughed with all his teeth. "You just proved my point."
Alannah decided to change the subject. That was infinitely safer. "Aren't you eating?" she said, gesturing to the banquet.
"I can't eat from this realm," he said. "Dragon and Fae magic is, by its nature, in conflict."
"You mean it would give you indigestion," she said, dryly. "You could've just said." He blinked and that devilish smile made another appearance.
"We have to do something," William burst out. He clenched and unclenched his hands as he paced. "Rose is out there with that â that monster. Who knows what he's doing to her?"
"I was afraid this might happen," she confided, to Dameon.
"He does feel strongly, doesn't he?"
Alannah sat in one of the chairs â comfy, despite the glass legs and the sparkles â and tucked her feet underneath her. "The sidhe aren't monsters," she told William. "From the looks of this place, our kidnapper's part of the seelie court. Which means he's honourable," she explained at the blank look the knight gave her.
He snorted. "Honourable enough to kidnap a princess?"
Alannah shot a look at Dameon. "Maybe he's a dragon in disguise."
"We don't actually kidnap women, you know," he protested. "That was one dragon, one time."
"And now you're dining out on reputation alone? Clever."
A shrug. "It's much easier when you're not fighting off a mob."
"What about Rose?" William interrupted. "He could be doing anything to her!"
"He said he had a collection." The dragon seemed to be enjoying himself. "He's probably just turned her into a servant. Or, at worst, a very pretty ornament."
"An ornament?"
"They're not cruel masters," Dameon continued. "She might even be happy here." Alannah dropped her head in her hands.
"We can't leave her here!" shouted William. "I refuse to take one step outside this room unless it's with the intention of rescuing Rose â the princess," he corrected, hastily.
"You could always stay here with her," suggested the dragon.
"All right, enough." Alannah held up her hands before William actually exploded. "We can't get out of this realm without the Fae's help, so we need to find him. And we're not leaving without Rose," she confirmed. William deflated.
"If I can repeat your very sensible question: how, exactly?" asked Dameon.
Alannah exhaled through her teeth. "I have no idea." she admitted. "What do you know about Fae?"
"Not a lot. I don't have much to add beyond what you've already said."
"What if-"
Across the room, a door cracked open. They froze. The seams of the entrance had been invisible in the wall, but now the stone swung open like a door and a new Fae entered their prison. His clothes were shoddier, less well cut, but he had the sharp features and long ears of a sidhe. A servant.
William took two giant steps forward, grabbed the man by the lapels of his jacket and slammed him up against the marble.
"Where's Rose?" he asked, in a low, trembling voice. "Where is she?"
The Fae didn't even look rustled.
"William â let him go!"
Dameon grabbed her arm. "Wait."
The dark-haired Fae snapped his fingers and the magic that touched Alannah's spine felt like a rush of oil. One minute William was standing there, pressing the Fae into the wall. The next, he was across the room and surrounded by bars.
The bars were thin, gold, and melded into the ceiling as if they'd grown into place. William, on the other side, had less than four feet of space to move in. Alannah stared at him.
"What in the goddess' name-"
William shook the bars of his new cell. "Let me out!"
The Fae straightened his clothes. "I don't think that will be possible," he replied, coolly. "You need to learn to obey."
Speechless, William gripped the bars and stared. Alannah still hadn't pulled away from Dameon. She hated to admit it, but she felt safer with him at her back. "Who are you?"
"I am Ebel, servant to your master, Winter."
"He's no master of mine," Dameon muttered.
Ebel shot him a glare. "You will obey. Eventually."
This was stupid: obviously brute force and threats weren't the way to deal with these Fae. "We'd like to see Winter," she said. "Please: it's difficult to obey without knowing what he wants from us."
Ebel considered that while he cleared the table. "Very well," he said, after a moment. "I will take you to him."
"And you'll let William go?" she asked, hopefully.
"No. The boy is too dangerous to remain unguarded."
Ah well. It was worth a shot.
"Wait - you can't just leave me here," the Knight called.
"You'll be safer in there," said the dragon, and then, in her mind: and so will everyone else.
"Don't worry," said Alannah, as William turned an apoplectic purple. "We'll find Rose and make sure she's all right."
He only scowled.
The Fae collected the plates and headed for the door. "This way."
Alannah followed him without another word. The dragon tailed her. Are you sure about this? Fae get offended easily.
What are you trying to say? she sent back. That I offend people by my presence?
No, that would be your knight.
Don't call him mine. And you make sure you're polite, she added. The last thing she needed was a smart-mouthed dragon.
Your wish is my command. There was a sultry edge to the thought, but it seemed more like a knee-jerk reaction than intentional flirting. Dameon's focus was on the beautiful sculpted roof and the glittering walls. If his horns were ears, they would've been laying flat against his head.
They followed the Fae servant through winding corridors, under a clear blue sky. Sunlight warmed through the glass and warmed her until sweat prickled under her arms and at the small of her back. There were no more doors, just tall, arched openings that led to more passages. Other Fae passed them, giving her barely a second glance but sneering at Dameon. The dragon ignored them, his shoulders squared and his mouth tight.
And yet here he was, by her side, despite the fact he could've stayed with William in their prison. Alannah exhaled and felt a coil of tension leave her. She couldn't relax too much: he was still a dragon. This odd loyalty wouldn't last once they got back to their own realm.