The Alpha King's Mate novel Chapter 35

Maia

Waking up, I'm alone in my room. I think of Damon. Does he know where I am? Will he come for me? Has he been lying to me? Or does he truly love me? I miss him. I stare at the maroon-coloured walls of my bedroom and their gold wainscotting and revel in how luxurious my room is. The sun is shining through my windows. The maids didn't draw them last night because they didn't want to wake me.

There is a knock on my door, and Jewel and Leah let themselves in, and stand near a chest of drawers, holding a basket with a washcloth and some salve. Leah has an olive-green, floor-length, long-sleeved gown and places it on the bed.

"We're here to help you bathe and salve your skin," Jewel says. I smile.

"Please, come in," I tell them, and I fling the covers back off my legs to get up. Jewel pulls the nightie over my head and throws it on the bed before leaning over a wooden tub and pumping the water.

Jewel is struggling with the pump. She stops for a moment while she catches her breath.

"Here, let me," I say, staring at the chunky metal water pump, focusing on summoning the water out of it. Jewel is looking at me funnily and wondering what I'm trying to do before warm water gushes out of the pump and fills the wooden tub effortlessly.

"Maia! How did you do that?" Jewel says, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.

"Is it warm?" Leah asks, surprised too, as she dips her hand into the water to find it at perfect bathing temperature.

"How did you do that?" Leah asks, amazed.

"I'm an elemental sprite," I tell them, stepping into the wooden tub and sitting down.

I tell the women the same story about the sprites, orcs, fae and the witches Damon had told me while they washed my back and covered my hair in soap.

"Ah yes, we've heard this story before, haven't we?" Jewel says to Leah.

"We have, yes. When we were little, mamma would tell us this story often. What she would do if she knew sprites were real after all!" Leah says, in awe of my origins.

"Are you sisters?" I ask the women, and they nod.

"Can't you tell?" Jewel asks, winking at me.

"No, I can't," I say, laughing.

"I'm older than her," Jewel says, and Leah retorts, "Yeah, but only by a year and a half. They snicker before Jewel fills a silver jug with the bathwater, and pours it down my long hair a few times, in quick succession, to rinse the soap out.

"Are you looking forward to the ball tonight, Miss Maia?" Leah asks, clutching the salve and unscrewing the lid from its tin. I stand up and step out of the wooden tub