Arachne’s words echoed in the back of her mind every time she thought of Ylva. Her words about how the demon wanted to be owned stuck out the most. That could just be a difference in owners.
From what Nel had observed of the two, Eva and Arachne tended to treat each other more as equals.
Whatever it was that Nel had with Ylva wasn’t anything along those lines.
“We understand.” Ylva’s soft voice broke Nel out of her thoughts. “We will make arrangements before you wake.”
“Thank you, Lady Ylva.” Nel said as she bowed her head back down.
She heard Ylva’s bones clatter as the demon leaned back in her throne. The bony fingers against Nel’s skull resumed their massage in a light circular pattern.
Nel relaxed into the massage once again. She closed her eyes and sighed.
It really wasn’t so bad.
“Eva has returned.”
Nel opened her eyes, half expecting the little ab–the little girl to be down at the main entrance archway on the outer ring. She really was making a conscious effort to avoid thinking about her the way Sister Stirling would have thought about her. Despite her current station in life, Eva did hide her away from Sister Cross.
“She’s reading with Arachne?”
“That may be the case in the near future. For now, she makes attempts to recover from the travel.”
“It is Saturday then,” Nel said as she leaned back against the throne.
Two weeks since the demon attacked her. Two weeks minus a few days since she first came to Ylva.
“Mortals use Saturdays as days of rest. Sundays as well, if We are not mistaken.” It came out almost as a question. It felt more like an order to the universe itself. “Do you require days of rest?”
Nel glanced up at the demon. The question smelled like a trap. If she answered yes, she would be punished or perhaps even killed for impertinence. If she answered no, she would be punished or killed for refusing the demon’s offer.
Her brain wracked back and forth over what answer to give. One of them had to be the right answer. Ylva wouldn’t give her an impossible choice so soon. She can’t have tired of Nel’s presence already. What was two weeks to an immortal?
Doubt crept into her heart. It beat furiously trying to push the fear away.
The demon seemed to sense Nel’s raging heart. There was almost a sigh as the demon removed her hand from Nel’s skull.
“Go. Your services are no longer required today. You may resume your duties on the morrow.”
Nel blinked. Relief flooded into her as she let out a long breath. She shook her head and all but slumped against the throne. Of course Ylva hadn’t grown sick of Nel so soon. The demon was honestly asking.
Hopefully.
It took a minute for her mind to actually register what the demon had said.
“Feel free to explore Our domain. Within, We imagine there is a plethora of wonders to the mortal eye.” One of her skeletal hands pointed off to the front of the room. “That chamber contains water and sand. We recommend you avoid it. The tedium of you becoming lost and tracking you through the Void may tax our patience.”
Nel sat there, staring blankly until everything finally registered. She stood up and gave the slouching skeleton a deep bow. “Thank you, Lady Ylva.”
The skeleton dismissed her with a wave of her bleached arm.
Nel turned her back on her master and moved down the steps from the throne.
There were thirty-six archways along the outer ring. One was off-limits–being lost in a place called the void sounded horrible–one led to the bedroom, one to the dining room, and one outside. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom, though it was depressingly lacking a bath.
Nel froze at the edge of the hanging platform as a thought occurred to her. Did demons even need to use the bathroom? And what about sleep. Did Ylva need sleep? She had a bedroom. A bedroom that Nel had been sleeping in for the past several nights.
Unless she misheard something, Ylva gave her free roam of her domain. Even the water and sand room was a recommendation rather than an order. Did she have private quarters that she just allowed Nel access to or were they simply hidden somewhere Nel had no hope of accessing.
Nel shook the thought off. If one of the rooms looked like it was dangerous in any sense of the word, she’d skip it and check the next room.
With a deep breath, Nel put a foot down over the gaping pit. She hated this part since the day she moved in. Ylva had to all but drag her across by the collar the first few times. It was just unnatural stepping over a pit.
Whatever magics decided she was a valid member of Ylva’s domain took hold. A small platform formed exactly beneath her foot.
Parts of her could see a solid floor connecting the white marble ring to the black marble throne platform. Other parts of her could clearly see that nothing was around her. Most notably, her regular eyes. The ones she trusted the most.
