How Does It Feel?

How does it feel? INFATUATED FAE BOOK ONE JENEANE O'RILEY Copyright © 2023 by Jeneane O'Riley All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any reference mentioned in book is purely fictional. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Created with Vellum AUTHOR’S NOTE I want you to enjoy this book with every cell inside of your body. I want you to escape to a magical villain fairy land full of fun, but not at the expense of your health and well being. Please be aware this story contains content that might be troubling to some readers, including, but not limited to violence, abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal), kidnapping, death or dying, gore, mental illness, bones, hospitalization, profanity, snakes, sex, poisoning. If you decide to proceed (cracks knuckles and turns to face you in a large, ominous desk chair) then please enjoy book one of the infatuated fae series. Jeneane O’Riley To you. My hope is not that you finish this book, but that this book finishes you. Contents Playlist How Does It Feel? 1. The Beginning of the End 2. A Short Time Prior 3. Adventure-Laced Rejection 4. Honey Holes and Hallucinations 5. Destroying Angels 6. An Unexpected Turn 7. Into the Depths of Darkness 8. Kill It or Keep It 9. The Dungeon 10. Paint the Walls Red 11. Shivers 12. Falling into the Flames 13. 13. Strengths and weakness 14. The Debts That Tie 15. Ready or Not, Here I Come 16. The Air of Freedom 17. The Snare is Set 18. A New Cage 19. Three Trials 20. Run 21. The Poison of Need 22. A Bonding Proposal 23. Remind the Gods 24. Ruined 25. Love: The Poison of the Soul 26. Destruction 27. Finders Keepers 28. Succumb 29. The Last and Final Trial 30. Betrayal 31. A Dream and a Nightmare Acknowledgments Playlist Like A Villain— Bad Omens The Death Of Peace Of Mind— Bad Omens You’ve Seen The Butcher— Deftones Black Honey— Thrice Make Believe— Memphis May Fire (Chapter 28) Reach— Eternal Eclipse Inferia— Eternal Eclipse (Chapter 29) Born from ashes— Eternal Eclipse How Does It Feel? by Jeneane O'Riley Chapter 1 The Beginning of the End Callie The damp floor of the dungeon made it hard to keep the tiny cuts of cheese on my mini charcuterie board. I suppose it was less of a board and more of a loose brick from the back wall, but the rat that visited this cell wouldn’t mind. I laughed out loud at how cute it looked with the little bits of cracker and honey saved from my meal yesterday. My muscles froze. I immediately berated myself for the laughter that had slipped out. They didn’t like when I made noises. When I made noises, they woke up. They had told me they would hurt me again if I made any more noise. I pressed my body into the faulty shelter of the dungeon’s shadows. My finger’s poked the open, bloodied wound on my head as a firm reminder of its horrible capabilities. A deep inhale stretched my sinewy ribs as I imprinted my finger nail sharply into the wound. I bit the iron cuffs around my wrist to muffle my cries as the metal tang of blood swirled with the bite of iron in my mouth. Good, I still felt something. My taut muscles relaxed the faintest amount. The iron chain between my cuffs clanged loudly against itself with my slight movement. Blackness immediately consumed me as my eyes shut so tightly that tiny flecks of light speckled the back of my eyelids. The hard stone wall dug into my flesh. I pressed harder, willing it to swallow me up so I would no longer be inside the fear-laced cell of this dungeon. Had I caused it to wake? A few stray tears escaped my eyes as my body trembled. Fuck. Fuck. I shook so hard I threatened to wake him with the rattle of my bones. Be quiet or it will wake and hurt you again. I wish I could have known more details about all of this. I was beginning to question who I really was anymore. It was like ten versions of myself were shoved into this body, and I grew more confused about who I was with every day that passed. I just wanted to be myself for a while. I had forgotten what that felt like. A moment of stillness passed. I filled myself with a silent lungful of relief and returned to my mini charcuterie board. I could wait and see if they gave me more bread tonight, but I doubt they would. Holding my breath, I stepped over the rusted chain that connected my cuffs and pulled my hands wide on either side of my body. The thick iron chain pulled tightly around my lower back, silencing any metal clangs as I moved the brick of food back toward the cell wall where I had removed the brick from originally. I sat in front of the large gap and waited patiently for the only thing that kept me sane . The only thing I looked forward to anymore. Within a few moments, the grungy brown rat came. “I’m so glad you made it back,” I mouthed excitedly, the smacks of my lips the only sound I dared to make. The large brown rat turned its beady black eyes both ways before bypassing the food and running into my lap. He looked bigger today. His dark fur, slick with greasy patches, seemed more filled out than usual. Was I crazy to think a rat had gained muscle? “I told you to stop saving your food for us.