Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1.3

He took a step back so she could move again and gave her another scrutinizing look. "Breakfast at six in the morning, lunch at twelve, and dinner at seven. On-time in the kitchen, which you can reach from the entrance hall. Third door from the left," Rei explained in a commanding voice.

"Is the kitchen always open?" she asked cautiously, having noticed that she was getting downright hunger attacks ever since the dragons had given her that drink. Her body was changing more and more, and the more this went on, the more strength and, therefore, the food she seemed to need. If she didn't get it, she would slump powerlessly and could forget about escaping.

Appraisingly he eyed the woman and nodded. "And remember, should you try to steal something and escape, you may experience something," he warned explicitly.

Rei turned toward the door to leave her alone. He had a lot of other things to do. Before he left, though, he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Clothes are in the closet. Be careful with them and show up on time tonight. Otherwise, there will be nothing for dinner."

Quinn lowered her eyes. "I haven't gotten anything yet today," she said quietly because she was hungry. They had been afraid that she would try to escape on the trip here. Even though she was tied up, they still hadn't given her anything to eat, so she would be as weak as possible.

Sighing, Rei ran a hand through his blue hair, which was slowly dying. "Go wash up and change, then we'll go to the kitchen," he finally relented. Letting someone go hungry was out of the question for him. However, if someone was repeatedly late, he cracked down on them so they would learn and come on time.

She gave him a smile that made her eyes sparkle before slowly walking towards the closet to grab some new clothes.

In the closet, however, she found only men's clothes. Though small enough that she could wear them, she still didn't feel entirely comfortable with them.

With wobbly legs, she walked down the hall and towards the bathroom. It was not good that this was so far away. What if she threw up? She didn't want to think about how angry the man would get.

Rei followed her and waited in the hallway as she quickly disappeared into it.

Patiently waiting, he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. As he did so, he listened to the sounds emanating from the bathroom.

A little later, Quinn came out again. Wearing loose pants and a long linen shirt that was too big for her, she looked at Rei with wide, almost innocent eyes.

Mustering, he looked at her and nodded, not responding to the wide eyes. He was aware that she would certainly try to escape. "One thing should be clear to you: No one escapes from this island," he said again explicitly on the way down to the kitchen. Clanging noises sounded from there, and fragrant smells already filled the hallways. Apparently, people were there, tending to the food.

The further they walked, the more uncomfortable Quinn felt. The clothes she was wearing didn't necessarily make her discomfort go away. She tugged uneasily at the hem of the shirt that was far too big and felt the anxiety inside her as she stepped into the kitchen with Rei, eyes wide.

She didn't know exactly what she had expected, but certainly not this.

Several men were in the process of processing ingredients and cooking them. There were seven men in the spacious kitchen, which included a long table that could seat at least twenty people.

While three stood at the stoves and ovens, the others chopped vegetables, fruits, and meat. Space enough, without stepping on each other's feet, they had.

On one side hung a large shelf with countless dried herbs since it was impossible to grow anything on the ice island. Good smells rose from the large cooking pots on the stoves and spread through the room.

The sight of these men, however, was strange and unfamiliar. They wore pants and linen shirts, just like Quinn, but over them, something leathery. Wide, leather bands partially encircled their torsos, emanating from a collar. Small chains hung from her sides, connected to her upper arms, which also had a leather band. A slightly longer chain connecting their wrists to their hips gave them the freedom to move and cook. However, it would not be enough for more.

The mood here was not sullen but calm. Everyone knew what they had to do, and they chatted amicably, too, until Rei entered.

Quinn swallowed hard when she saw that. Only men. Not a single woman.

Uneasily, she stepped closer to Rei. Already in her village, men had not been the kind of company she liked to surround herself with, and here Rei was the one protecting her. At least, that's what she hoped.

Although the men were somehow tied up, she still believed that they could harm her very quickly.

Relentlessly, Rei pushed her in front of him and towards the table. There he forced her onto a chair and let her go.

"She is hungry. Give her soup, bread, and meat," Rei said in a cold, commanding tone, already pulling out plates from a cupboard and placing them on the table.

At first, the men didn't seem to respond until they noticed a woman sitting at the table. Some went wide-eyed. Others seemed curious but not overly interested. Only one stared at her hungrily, which caused Quinn to try to make himself as small as possible on the chair.

"A woman?" one even remarked quietly, taking a large pot from the stove to place on the table so she could have something to eat.

Rei ladled her soup plate full and set it down in front of Quinn. "Yes, and don't you dare touch her. She is not here for your pleasure," he drove at the men gruffly. Reprovingly, he gave them a look that made it clear what would happen if they tried.

"Too bad," one of them said but turned back to the pots. The man's gaze, which had been looking at her hungrily from the start, remained on her, however.

While Quinn shakily took a spoonful of soup, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. The most striking thing about him was the long scar on his face and the one white eye that was probably blind. He hardly wore any hair, which added something creepier to his whole appearance.

His look made Quinn feel very uncomfortable about eating, yet she ate the entire plate. She needed the strength because she could feel her body already using it up again.

Suddenly her right hand cramped up, which is why the spoon fell into the empty bowl. Then she curled up in pain on her chair because her skin suddenly began to ache so violently, as if it were just too tight for her body.

Immediately the men turned to her and watched Rei, who calmly moved the plate away from her so she couldn't throw it to the floor.

Only then did he bend halfway down to her and put his hand on her back. "Calmly breathe against the pain. It'll pass soon," he said quietly.

Quinn barely heard him. Her fingers ached, and she felt her nails growing. Almost like claws, they grew longer, and even as they grew, Quinn began to scrape the skin off her arms as if she were trying to peel.

Blood ran down her, and what looked like gray stone scales came out from under the skin. However, not everywhere yet and only in a few places.

It had become quiet in the kitchen, and only the sounds of pain from the young woman could be heard. They sounded muffled, as if she was doing her best not to be too loud or attract too much attention. Yet she had to be in hellish pain.

Sighing, Rei ran a hand over her graying hair and looked over at the men. "Mako, you help me get her back to the room. Liron, you bring the food later," he instructed two of the men.

Mako, a muscular man with green hair, eased off his cutting board and quickly washed his fingers before walking over to Rei. His emerald eyes were on Quinn as he did so.

Liron was relatively short and no taller than the young woman, who was still making pain sounds. The latter nodded to Rei and promised to bring everything necessary.

The green-haired man reached out to Quinn to help her and also to give Rei a hand. "This is when the shedding begins," he explained quietly, not knowing if Rei wanted his help and he couldn't use trouble. "Water can help with that."

Together they left the kitchen, where the men went back to their chores as if nothing had happened. "With a bath?" asked Rei on the way up. Never before had he witnessed or been present at a transformation. He could only fall back on the facts and reports he had heard. Unfortunately, that didn't help him make Quinn's life any easier.

Most of his men knew better about this than he did, so he took the advice.

"Yes, warm water can help loosen the skin," Mako continued to explain as they slowly reached the room.

Mako knew that it was actually Rei's room, which is why it surprised him that she was billeted here.