Chapter VI
Mariam leads Sable through the door that The Champion indicated is to their room in the safehouse.
After she teleported them here, with magic that she called “tearing,” Mariam honestly wants to just be alone with Sable for a while.
It was a violent experience; the wind crushed against her on all sides.
It was not unlike what she imagines it would be like to be sucked down a pneumatic tube.
Sable seemed perfectly fine with it, much to Mariam’s dismay.
But as they enter their new space, Mariam is impressed by the size of it: there’s still plenty of walking room despite two cots under white sheets, a dark wood nightstand by each, and along the back wall, a desk with a rolling desk chair, an overstuffed scarlet lounger, and between them, a long spruce dresser with two drawers.
The drapes are drawn, but there is a large window opposite the entrance by the lounger, and there’s even a private bathroom and a small closet. It’s almost like being in a hotel.
Mariam rolls her suitcase to the back of the room, and opens the bottom drawer to begin unpacking, only to find it already stuffed with unfamiliar clothes, of a style with what Sable is wearing.
Clearly, The Champion has… zapped Sable’s new wardrobe into the drawer.
Instead, Mariam begins to stow her own clothes into the top drawer.
As she works, she can feel Sable’s eyes practically burning into her back.
“Is something wrong?” she asks.
“No.”
“Okay…” Silence returns, but the sensation of being watched never leaves, even as Mariam finishes putting her clothes away and tucks her suitcase into the closet.
Finally she turns and meets Sable’s eyes.
She sees gentleness in her gaze. No anger or defensiveness, just…
a soft look. One she hadn’t seen before.
“I never got to say thank you.” Sable looks down at her boots, her hair draping forward. “I still don’t know why you helped me, especially now with all the trouble it’s caused you. But… thank you.”
Mariam smiles sweetly, coming to sit near her on one of the cots. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I helped you because… I hope that if I’m ever in need like you were, someone would help me, too.”
Mariam watches Sable, her face unreadable through her feathering hair. “You’re far too kind for your own good, Mariam.”
“Maybe so. But that’s who I am.”
“I know. It’s… a good thing.” Sable offers a small smile, barely a turning of her lips. But Mariam’s heart is pounding. She’s suddenly desperate for a subject change.
“Can I ask you something?” says Mariam.
“You can ask me anything you want, sweet.”
Mariam’s heart twists at the unexpected term of endearment. “I’ve never met a Fae before. Actually, most humans don’t even know they exist. So I’m sorry if this question is ignorant, but, I’m curious… What exactly are you? Someone I know said you might be a Faeral, but I’m not sure what that is.”
Sable cocks her head, returning her gaze to Mariam’s, her amber eyes flashing as she does. “Your friend was right. I am a Faeral. Part High Fae, part animal, I guess you could say. That’s what they made us, anyway.”
“Who? What do you mean?”
Sable sighs. “A long ass time ago, a High Fae wizard grew bored of his minions and started experimenting on them. He took the most powerful of them… and the most dangerous of animals. His successful experiments became the start of the Faeral clans that still roam the No Man’s Lands.
” She rolls her shoulders. “Because of him being shitty like that, we all have a beast inside of us.”
Mariam turns this information over in her head. “You said you’re the successful experiments. What happened to the… less successful ones?”
Sable’s eyes burn into Mariam’s. “They were used as prey. To train the successful ones on how to hunt as an animal.” She snorts. “Stupid bastard should’ve known that’d bite him in the ass. Eventually my ancestors banded together and killed him.”
“That’s… I’m sorry Sable, that’s a horrible thing he did.” Mariam feels a little sick to her stomach.
She shrugs. “‘It is what it is’ is the human saying, right? It’s ancient history.”
“Well… I’m glad you told me. I like knowing more about you. And your people.”
Sable stares at her for a long, pregnant moment before slowly nodding. “That’s… a shared sentiment.”
Mariam smiles. The conversation lulls, and she returns to unpacking. By the time she’s done, a massive yawn overtakes her. She covers her mouth as it racks her body.
“Aaaah, I think I might turn in very soon,” she says. “How are you feeling, Sable? Do you want me to look you over before bed?”
“I’m fine,” Sable reassures her. “We should rest.”
“Do you want to come with me tomorrow to explore a bit and get a feel for this place?” Mariam asks as she finds her nightgown among her clothes. “It’s up to you; no pressure, especially given your wounds are still healing.”
“Yes, I will come. It would be good to know the territory.”
“Awesome.” Mariam plays with the hem of her shirt, suddenly shy. “Can you… turn around?”
Sable raises a brow and cocks her head towards the bathroom. “There’s a bathing room.” A sly grin plays on her lips. Mariam feels her face flush.
“U-Um, yeah—”
Sable rolls her lip between her teeth, then nods and turns away. “Have it your way, sweet.”
Mariam quickly disrobes and then pulls on the nightgown, letting its silky blue fabric roll down her body until it sits just below her thighs. She looks down and realizes her chest is rather… pronounced in this, but it’s comfort clothing for her. Something she feels safe in.
“Okay, you can look now.” Mariam begins to head towards her cot but pauses when Sable’s eyes return to her… and a devouring look crosses her face. Her amber gaze inspects Mariam, making her feel like she’s under a burning spotlight. “Wh-What’s that look for?”
“You look good enough to eat,” Sable replies, her voice low, almost like a purr. It sends a hot shiver down Mariam’s spine as she presses her thighs together. Especially when that hungry gaze returns to flicker between her breasts and face.
“I… I didn’t think…”
“Didn’t think about what, sweet?”
“That you were… interested.” Mariam’s face flushes, no doubt turning as dark as beets. She has never in her life been looked at or spoken to like this.
Sable chuckles. “Mariam, I couldn’t speak the language until last night, but I’m not blind… or dead. You are beautiful.” One side of her lips quirks up. “And tempting, like this. You look like you want someone to join you in your bed.”
“I—I—” Mariam finds herself unable to form words. Nor can she tear her eyes from Sable.
Sable laughs, the first true laugh Mariam has ever heard from her, and then follows it with the first real grin. “Go to sleep, Mariam.”
Feeling a little deflated, Mariam climbs onto her cot, facing away from Sable. “Good night, Sable.”
Mariam can hear the other cot creak under the large woman until she settles. “Good night, sweet. Rest easy.”
* * *
Mariam wakes sometime after Sable, and upon opening her eyes, finds her sitting backwards in the lounger looking out the window.
She has the drapes pulled aside slightly to give her a better view of the Reapers in the training ground, sparring with one another.
Her eyes flit to the treeline every few moments, watching.
Watching for Caedren, Mariam realizes. The name resonating in her head makes her stomach knot and acid licks at the back of her throat.
But Sable’s lips quirk up as she recognizes Mariam watching her. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Mariam responds, watching her still from bed. “Can I ask you something else, Sable?”
“Just opened your eyes and already full of questions,” Sable teases, but nods. “Of course.”
“You said the Faerals all have an animal counterpart, right? What is yours?”
Sable smiles and looks at her. Mariam’s breath catches in her chest. She looks devastating in the sunlight. Her amber eyes shimmer like gemstones. “I’m what’s called a wolfmaiden. My animal side is a wolf, though maybe not quite what you’d recognize as one.”
My wolf. Mariam catches herself at that thought. Sable isn’t hers; why would she think that? Mariam sits up and catches Sable’s gaze flitting across her upper half again. Her face heats a little. “That feels… fitting for you.”
“Thank you.” She bows her head slightly before returning her attention to the outside. “Get dressed, Mariam. We have a safehouse to discover, after all.”
Mariam realizes the woman hasn’t been able to bathe since she arrived in the human world. Mariam had bathed around her wounds regularly, but feared trying to get her to understand she meant no harm with a shower. “Do you want to shower first? I can redo your poultice and bandages after.”
“Shower?” Sable seems to taste the word, screwing up her face.
Mariam has seen the look a few times now.
The Champion granted Sable command of the English language, but many words still seem to confuse her even as they come out of her mouth.
“I… have never used a shower. We bathed in rivers and lakes and such.”
“I can show you how to use one! It’s not complicated.”
Sable hums and cocks her head, thinking. “Maybe a bath would be easier.”
“True, and it might be easier on your body. Just be careful when you try to get the poultice buildup from around your wounds. You don’t want to reopen them.
” Mariam rises fully, stretching her body, before going to their shared bathroom to start the water.
She does not miss the fact that Sable watches her the entire time.
~§~