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And for Char—for the life she wanted for me.
I’ll endure their taunts and teasing. Brave their mischievous manipulations. Let them train me, let them teach me their ways of cunningness and confidence, then I can return to Dovenak and seek revenge on Lord Edvin and Lady Nilda.
I’ll also be strong enough to forge my own path forward.
I refuse to let Rainer break me.
My stomach growls, reminding me that I haven’t yet eaten. Leaving my room, I trudge down to the kitchen.
“The girl who fights,” I mutter to myself as I make my way through the hallways.
If he was trying to break me… why would he look so satisfied when I threatened him. There was a wicked gleam in his eye, and for a second it almost seemed like he was going to kiss me.
Another faerie game, I bet.
More fuel for my desire to grow strong and stand up for myself.
Not wanting to pass the main dining room, I take the long way to the kitchen. After a bit of walking around the first floor, and passing some weird art—mostly nonsensical paintings—and more doors than I can count, the hallway dumps me into the main foyer.
Somehow I got turned around.
The ridiculous bone chandelier hangs precariously above the center of the room, and I remember how terrified I was the first time I saw it. Now, it irritates me.
Light leaks in from the stained glass windows above the massive front doors. It sprays color around the room. For a moment, I stand there, watching in awe, mystified by the colors.
Suddenly, the front doors slam open with dramatic force. I jump, and so does my heart.
“Ryyyyyye-nerrrrrrrr,” a high-pitched voice calls out. “I’m late, I know. Spare me. It’s been a day.”
A curvy female fae with a warm-golden coloring similar to Eoin’s and flowing honey-brown hair enters the room. Jewelry decorates the sharp points of her ears. Matching gold bands wrap around each of her biceps, and layers of dainty chains rest on her sternum. The dress she wears is as gilded as her hair, with thin straps and a plunging neckline.
The more I stare at her, the deeper my frown grows. She looks just like Eoin… except fancier. Royal. Yesterday, when I fell from the tree, Rainer had mentioned something about Eoin’s sister coming today. This must be her.
She steps closer, towering over me with her dancer-like grace.
“And who do we have here?” she asks, her amber eyes soaking me up. She pops a generous hip, placing her hand on it as she smiles brightly at me. “What a doll!”
Hearing the Lord's old nickname for me instantly causes me to recoil. My arms itch to reach around my midsection on their own accord, but I force myself to keep my hands at my side.
I’m done being a toy.
I am no one’s dolly.
“Oh, this is delightful,” she says, clapping her hands together. “You must be the new human Rai’s acquired. Did he finally drain that wretched Fern?”
“He did not acquire me,” I mutter, causing her to laugh.
“Sennah, stop making my human uncomfortable,” Rainer says.
I feel his energy before I even see him. And I fight the urge to flee.
I am not weak.
I am strong.
“Hello little Prince of Fear,” Sennah says.
The little hairs on my neck stand up, and I know without looking that he’s behind me—maybe only a few feet away. His mere presence seems to heat the space up a few degrees, and a quick flashback to last night’s dream makes me even warmer.
