Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(50)
Everything about Kali's room was either the polar opposite to Ivy's or exactly the same. She, too, had plants, but they weren't the deadly kind. A few miniature animals wandered around – chipmunks and squirrels – not the sort that made me want to faint. Her bed was a pile of feathers and petals beneath the willow tree, with normal pillows and silken cases. Trails of stone led throughout her garden-like domain to the center of the room and to the farthest wall, which drawers were built into.
Kali's eyes lit up with unspoken laughter. "Going crazy yet?"
"Sometimes I think I am, and other times I feel more sane than I ever have in my entire life. Does that make sense?" I smiled, thinking of my conversation with Death, and frowned.
"More than you will ever know," she said solemnly. "At least you're getting some gifts. It could be much worse. You could be forced to room with Ivy." She shrugged and sat against the tree trunk with her legs extended and crossed. "Sit down." She motioned to her bed.
Luckily, the bed was more comfortable than it looked. I had been worried that the feathers would poke me, but they seemed to be softer than the feathers that wore through the pillows I had grown up with. With my legs bent, I pulled them to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
Staring at Kali over my knees, I hesitated before speaking. "You know, I don't think Ivy is as horrible as she wants everyone to believe."
Kali gave me an appraising smile and nodded. "It depends who you are. I've never gotten along with her, but I have seen a different side to her. She seems to have a soft spot for Calla and occasionally lets Bay in." Her eyes looked off into the distance for a moment before she continued. "She respects Aria enough to listen most of the time, but otherwise she has a ... corrosive attitude."
"That's an interesting way to put it. Her domain fits her perfectly."
"Please tell me she put Brass away before you got there?" I shook my head and shivered at the memory. "Figures! What did she give you?"
"A slow Loris named Nyx. I didn't even know that such an animal existed! She's really cute though." I bit my lips, warring with myself. "Have you ever been inside Death's domain?"
The warmth left her eyes, and a cold fury swept through the room. "No." A tempest built within the sanctuary of the willow tree, causing the branches to rush around us, lashing against my back. "Why?"
The winds died down, leaving me terrified to answer her question. "I was just there. It was unique, but we don't need to talk about that." I rushed through my explanation and hoped she would take the bait. I didn't know what animosity hung between her and Death, but I didn't want to get in the middle of it.
Kali's jaw tightened. "Right, something else." She let her anger be carried away on the sigh of breath that escaped her. "What do you think of our lair?"
The question took me by surprised. I suggested the change of conversation, but thought she would stay on topic by giving me my gift or her name. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had hinted about my upcoming transformation. Small talk about the lair was one of the last things on my mind. Still, it was better than being the focus of a Hellhound’s anger.
"It's kind of peaceful. I feel more at ease here than I did in my old home, but there are some things that will take a while to adjust to." She nodded, staring at the bedding around my feet. I wondered if she felt bad about her reaction before but didn't want to make her feel worse by bringing it up.
"There are some things that are impossible to adjust to." Kali spoke in whisper; her voice held an antique quality which made it seem as if she spoke from the past rather than from the girl directly in front of me in the present. For a moment, I wondered if I heard her correctly, until she finished her thought. "Some things just get worse or you learn to mask your emotions better. Then others think you have accepted them."
"Are you okay?"
Kali shook her head and smiled at me, as if she had never let her guard down. "That's right, you're probably anxious for your gift!" Her smile brightened. She jumped up and ducked beneath the branches of the willow tree. Opening one of her drawers, she pulled out a large box and carried it over to me. "Here you go."
The green box was lighter than I thought it would be given its size. It was shaped like a rectangle, large enough to contain two or three pairs of women's shoes. It felt like she had sewn fabric onto a cardboard box and slid some cotton in before stitching it up. The lid had silk flowers arranged in the style of a corsage pinned to it.
"It's lovely," I said, confused at her care with making the container, which I doubted was meant for anything more than holding my gift. Lifting the lid, I found large bunches of fabric within. I pulled out a piece of red lace to find that it was a sheer chemise and blushed. "Um, thanks?"
She giggled. "Keep looking and one day you are going to thank me for those."
"There are more?" Shocked, I pulled out an entire collection of lingerie that I didn't plan on using in this lifetime. The box was beginning to remind me of those clowns who kept an endless stream of handkerchiefs tied together and stuffed up their sleeve. The lingerie would not stop!
"I'm not saying you have to wear them for anyone, but sometimes it's nice to look pretty for yourself. Who says you can't have beautiful nightgowns?"