No, I don’t like that answer. Either I’ve been captured by a lunatic or I really am lying in a bed in the Evanescence. It’s hard to decide which is less disturbing.

I struggle to sit up, but she places a hand on my shoulder and easily forces me back. I’m as strong as a baby bird.

“Ah ah,” she scolds. “You’re staying here until you have some rest. I remember how you land dwellers require sleep. So inconvenient. Don’t worry—when you become mine, we’ll do away with such trifling needs. Being a demigod has its issues, but there are many perks, too.”

I’m having trouble forming coherent thoughts, but did she just say “demigod” and “mine”? More alarm bells ring in my head, pinging around the inside of my skull like sharp iron burrs.

“Come,” Zerra says. “Dinner is ready, and we mustn’t be late.”

She grabs my wrist and tugs, dragging me into a seated position. My head spins, my vision tipping sideways. What happened to insisting I lie down and rest?

Once my mind clears, I use the opportunity to take stock of my surroundings. I’m in a large oval room covered in cream rugs, surrounded by cream walls decorated with a pattern that might be clouds. Long windows surround us like we’re inside a tower. Beyond the windows, I see only pale mist and wispy clouds against a light blue sky.

The Evanescence.

This . . . cannot be.

And yet, somehow, I know it’s true.

“Here are some clothes for you.”

Zerra lays out a pair of white pants and a shirt at the foot of the bed.

“I’ll just wait while you dress.”

She drops into a chair and props an elbow on the table next to it, blinking at me with her bright blue eyes. I lift the hem of the sheet covering my lap, and yep, I’m completely naked. I try not to think too hard about how I got this way. Zerra’s a god, surely she wouldn’t—

Except she’s watching me like she’s preparing for a show.

“Could you leave?” I ask. “I’m not wearing anything underneath.”

She smiles with a raw mania carved into the lines of her face.

“Like I said, nothing I haven’t already seen.” She then gives me an exaggerated wink that I think is supposed to be sexy or cute, but it’s neither. It just makes me shudder.

“Yeah, well. I’m awake now and would prefer the dignity of dressing without an audience,” I say, trying to keep the growl out of my voice. Something tells me it’ll be best to remain on her good side and keep my temper. Not exactly my strongest quality.