Unconscious
~Euphoria~
My village was a long way away now.
We’d been driving for hours, and the original hostility I’d felt from the men in the car had slowly dissipated.
Neither of them seemed particularly interested in talking to me anymore, but the silence still carried a strange weight.
I didn’t mind it.
It was thin enough to breathe in.
Dawn was approaching, painting the sky outside the windows in faint shades of gray and blue.
I’d been awake for an entire day now, and the exhaustion I’d been holding off finally caught up with me.
I felt tired.
Really tired.
All of a sudden, my eyes became impossibly heavy.
My body seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the seat until I was practically sliding down it.
I tried to lift my head.
I couldn’t.
The last thing I remember thinking was that I really needed to sleep.
Then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes, I was disoriented and confused.
The light was too bright.
The room was too quiet.
Everything felt wrong.
Where was I?
Because this was definitely somewhere else entirely.
The door opened, and a woman wearing a vintage-looking nursing gown walked inside.
And I mean a gown.
It looked like something a nurse would have worn a hundred years ago.
“Ah, you’re finally awake.
You’ve been asleep for quite a while now.
We were starting to get a little worried.”
I blinked several times, trying to get my eyes to adjust.
“Excuse me.
Could you possibly explain what happened?
Where am I?
What day is it?” I asked quickly.
Then I winced.
“I’m sorry to bother you with so many questions.”
“It’s okay, sweetie.” She smiled warmly.
“You’re on the ship on your way to Yueying University.
We had to put you under before arriving at the docking point.
It’s strictly protocol.
The location of the school is a secret.”
She spoke so casually, like being drugged and transported to a secret school was the most normal thing in the world.
“You’ve been asleep since yesterday.
Thankfully, you woke up before we arrived.
I think my skills would have been questioned if you hadn’t.” She chuckled.
Was she a beast too?
She had to be.
She was so beautiful, and there was something about her that immediately told me she wasn’t human.
She didn’t look like the rest of us.
“Yes, I’m a beast too,” she said.
My eyes widened.
“I’m Mavis.
I work on the ship as a nurse.
I bet you want to know my beast.”
My face lit up like Christmas.
“Yes, please!
If that’s okay!” I practically bounced in the bed.
“I’d really love to know!”
I didn’t mean to sound so enthusiastic.
Oh man.
I hope I didn’t overdo it.
“I’m a wolf.
A bright red wolf,” she answered proudly.
“Wow!
That’s so cool!” I beamed.
“I hope I get to see your beast form one day!
I bet you’re such a beautiful wolf!”
I was practically shrieking with excitement.
Then a piercing throb slammed into my head.
“Oooh…”
I grabbed my forehead as pounding started behind my eyes.
The room seemed to tilt beneath me, and I fell backward onto the bed.
Mavis immediately stepped closer.
“You’re okay.
That’s a normal side effect of the gas as it wears off.
You’ll probably start vomiting soon as your body expels what you breathed in.
It’ll only last a few hours at most.
You should be fine by the time we dock.”
Then it hit me.
My eyes widened.
“Oh my gods…
my stuff!”
I looked around frantically.
“Calm down, Miss.
Don’t overexert yourself.
It’ll make your symptoms worse.”
I interrupted her.
“Please, you don’t understand.
I need my stuff.
My violin.” My voice cracked.
“Please.
I’m sorry to trouble you so much, but please.”
“Miss, it’s here in the room with you.
Over by the chair.
Please calm down.”
I turned my head.
There it was.
My violin case.
Relief washed over me so quickly that I nearly cried.
I wanted to break down, but I couldn’t.
I had to be strong.
“I’m sorry.” I swallowed hard.
“That must have been a lot.
I was really scared my violin had been left behind.”
Mavis smiled softly.
“You’re okay.
Don’t fret, dear.
I would be afraid of losing my things too, especially being so far from home.”
She walked over to the chair and brought the case to me.
“How did you know?” I asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
She smiled.
“The size of the box.”
She handed it to me.
I immediately pulled it against my chest and hugged it tightly.
“This is the most important thing I own.” My voice softened.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost it.
Thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure, Miss.
Here’s your meal.
Please eat and rest.
You’re going to need it.”
She placed a tray on the small table beside my bed and quickly left the room.
I looked over.
One word jumped out of my throat.
“FOOD.”
I was so hungry.
I hadn’t even noticed.
I was so used to feeling hungry that sometimes I barely noticed it anymore.
But the smell…
Oh my gods.
The food smelled amazing.
And there was so much of it!
Potatoes and carrots.
A rotisserie chicken leg and thigh.
A cupcake.
And a huge glass of ice water.
Actual ice.
My eyes nearly watered.
I hadn’t had ice in so long.
I didn’t even know what to go for first.
Water.
Definitely water.
Ice-cold water before the ice melted.
I grabbed the glass and sucked the water through the straw so quickly that I probably looked ridiculous.
By the time I finished, the glass was only half full.
Then I dug into the chicken thigh.
Oh.
My.
Gods.
It was delicious.
I became so engrossed in my food that I didn’t notice the door opening.
I didn’t notice the figure standing in the doorway either.
When I finally looked up, I immediately started coughing.
I nearly choked on my chicken.
He was so beautiful.
With sky-blue hair and electric-blue eyes.
My goodness.
I couldn’t believe someone could be so inhumanly beautiful.
“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry.” I coughed again, grabbing for my water.
“I was surprised to see someone standing there.
I didn’t hear you walk in.
I’m sorry.”
“Don’t stop on my account,” he said.
“It was fascinating seeing how a mortal eats in private.”
I blinked.
“What do you mean?
You’ve never seen a human eat?”
“Not like this, no.”
He chuckled.
It was a lovely sound.
I stared at him for a moment longer than I probably should have.
His hair was impossibly blue and long, falling around him in soft waves.
It looked so soft.
I had to physically stop myself from asking if I could touch it.
What am I even thinking?
I don’t even know his name.
But he’s so beautiful.
“They’ve always been a little more…” He paused, searching for the word.
“Composed when eating in front of me.”
What?
I slowly looked down.
First at my hands.
Then at my plate.
Oh my gods.
I was absolutely mortified.
I wanted to bury my head in the sand.
My hands were covered in chicken juice, and my plate looked like I’d attacked it rather than eaten it with a fork.
“Oh my goodness.”
I frantically looked around for a towel.
“Here.”
He walked closer and handed me one.
“Thank you.”
How embarrassing.
“Sorry.
I guess I was asleep for a little longer than expected.” I tried to laugh it off, but even I could hear how awkward I sounded.
Why am I so weird?
“That’s why I came.”
He continued watching me.
“I can’t have you dying on me before you even make it to campus.”
My heart fluttered.
He was concerned about me.
I had to fight the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl.
“Oh, thank you so much for your concern.
I really appreciate it.”
He was examining me.
I couldn’t quite figure out what he was thinking, but his wandering gaze didn’t make me uncomfortable.
Not yet, anyway.
“Of course.”
He took one step closer.
Then another.
In two strides, he was standing beside my bed.
He began to bend down.
“Eep.”
I immediately shrank backward into the mattress, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.
But he only leaned closer.
“You smell…
extraordinary.”
My breathing stopped.
“Like spring showers and peonies.”
He was close.
Too close.
I couldn’t breathe.
He moved even closer until the tip of his nose grazed the skin of my neck.
A shiver traveled down my spine.
Then he whispered.
His voice dripped into my ears like liquid seduction.
“You smell good enough to eat, my new pet.”
My stomach dropped.
“This year is going to be very fun.”
His words sent another shiver down my spine, but this one wasn’t pleasant.
Pet?
His pet?
At those words, the rapid beating of my heart seemed to come to a complete stop.
He straightened as though nothing had happened.
Then he simply walked away.
He reached the door and stopped.
Holding it open, he turned back toward me.
“I’ll be seeing you.”
He paused.
“Soon.”
The door slammed shut behind him.
I jumped.
The oxygen came bursting from my lungs in a ragged coughing fit.
My hand flew to my chest as I tried to catch my breath.
I’ll be seeing you.
Soon.