Free Awakened by Inger Iversen

waiting
     for me—I washed my hands and went back out.
    Just as I had assumed, Ana was gone, replaced by a long-haired man that radiated menace.
     He stared at me as if I were a problem in his life, and as I held his gaze, I started
     to worry that the nice treatment that I’d received from Ana ended here, with this
     man. I’d rather have the elf-like Ana over this towering ogre.
    We continued to stare at each other. I wanted to speak, but what would I say? I scanned
     the room for Ana before returning my gaze to his. Black eyes, long black hair, and
     a hint of Asian descent in his eyes. His face was pale, and his frown deepened.
    “Did you eat?” The question sounded as if it’d burned his tongue.
    I swallowed the painfully large ball of stress and opened my mouth to speak as Ana
     came back through the door. Relief that I was no longer alone with the giant swept
     over me as she looked between the two of us and smiled. Surprisingly, the ogre’s gaze
     softened as they landed on her, as did his tone. “Did she eat and drink, Anastaise?”
    His voice still held the deep gravelly tone, and I noticed that he rolled his “R”
     the way they did when they spoke English on Telemundo —odd, since I could have sworn that he was Asian.
    Ana handed me a light cotton shawl. “Yes, Darke. Is he ready for her now?” She helped
     me put on the shawl. Okay, this wasn’t Laurent, but I was sure that he was just as
     dangerous.
    Darke’s silence pulled her attention from me and to him. “Darke?” She questioned softly.
    “No, he is with Leif at the moment,” Darke answered immediately, his voice tight,
     they both exchanged a look.
    I wasn’t quite sure what he felt, but Ana was obviously worried. Who was this “Leif”?
     Ana finished helping me with the shawl and motioned for me to sit in a chair in front
     of an antique mirror. I sat, forcing myself to relax as my back was turned to the
     man called Darke.
    Ana began to finger comb my hair, removing the tangles, and I reluctantly relaxed
     to her touch, though I forced myself to stay alert.
    “He will be okay,” Ana said.
    I studied their faces in the mirror. Darke shuffled in the corner, and I turned to
     see what he was doing, but Ana pulled my head back to its former position and continued
     to detangle the mass of waves.
    “I am not worried.” Darke growled sending a shiver up my spine.
    Ana ignored the warning in his voice and continued, her voice soft and sure. “Yes,
     you are, and if I sense it, you know that master can, as well.”
    She shared a worried glance with Darke, then continued with untangling my hair. Darke
     went silent, as if pensive.
    “Leif’s punishment is warranted.” From his tone, I wasn’t sure even he believed his
     own statement.
    Darke moved to the fire placing him in my view, and I peeked at his face. The menacing
     lines were gone from his sharp features. He looked handsome. The firelight licked
     his face, casting shadows and light to play across his face.
    Leif was someone close to him, but what was he being punished for? Darke moved from
     my line of sight and headed back toward the door.
    “Hmm…” Ana’s fingers expertly pulled stray strands of hair away from my face. “I wonder
     sometimes if master is too heavy-handed with his warriors—but then again, as he says,
     ‘ C’est guerre .’”
    And once again, my ninth-grade French wasn’t enough to understand the foreign tongue—at
     least, not the last word. C’est meant “this is”…
    Ana picked up a soft-bristled brush and brushed my hair. Then she braided it, twisted
     it up, and picked up a large decorative crystal butterfly comb.
    I stared at the comb in the mirror. It was beautiful and somehow familiar. The butterfly’s
     wings were encrusted with two colored crystals that sparkled in the fire’s glow, one
     light blue and the other a shimmering green. The butterfly’s body looked to be solid
     crystal, and its antennae were probably solid