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“And what of your parents?” he asks.
“They died.” I shrug, wrapping my arms around my midsection. I don’t remember them, nor do I remember the fire that consumed our house. And it’s for the best. It would only serve as yet another heavy trauma to carry, and my bones are already tired enough.
Rainer’s ice-blue stare stays locked on me. It’s invasive, as if he can see right through me, my flesh, and the many layers beneath.
“Inconvenient.” His scowl deepens as he drums his fingers on his chin.
“What’s inconvenient?” I stand a little taller, glaring at him. “The fact that my parents died? That my earliest memories are of the lord’s disciplinary hand and his wife’s taunting?”
He frowns. “That’s not—”
“You keeping me here like an—another one of your little human pets is inconvenient,” I snap, starting on a tirade. “Your ridiculous magicked barrier is inconvenient. You being attractive is inconvenient.”
The last part slips out, but I’m too angry to care.
His lips twitch, and if I’m not mistaken, he almost appears humored.
“Ah. There’s that fight.”
I squeeze my trembling hands into fists. “This isn’t funny.”
“Nobody is laughing.”
“You seem amused.”
“On the contrary. I am quite displeased by many… revelations.” He runs a hand through his messy hair.
“So you’ll let me out of this prison?” I spit, despite my earlier acknowledgement that this is far from a jail cell.
He waves an arm toward the grand room. “You think this is where I keep my prisoners?” He chuckles, and it’s barely audible but it makes my stomach weak. “You think I send Das Celyn to feed my prisoners? That I line their beds with silken sheets and offer an array of bath salts and oils?” He mindlessly rubs the spot on his head where the tin hit him, and I bite my cheek, ashamed I threw it at him. “You think I give my prisoners a familiar job to occupy their time and quell their mind?”
My brows shoot up at that tidbit.
He reaches forward, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. His fingers linger by my jaw, and I hate that I enjoy his touch. “Trust me, if you were my prisoner, the only thing you’d wish for is death.”
With that, I jerk away from him.
“Do not overlook my kindness, human. You’d be wise to appreciate the hospitality you’ve received.”
“I am appreciative. So appreciative that it got me trapped here!” I yell. “Please just let me go.” At this point, I’m begging, but I don’t care.
“No.”
“Then it doesn’t matter what spoils you provide me. This might not be a prison, but I am your prisoner.”
“Would you prefer we return you to your realm?”
Return me to Dovenak? Absolutely not. I would have to cut through the forest behind the lord’s estate and trek through the village to get to any of the other cities, and the risk of being caught certainly isn’t worth it.
I sigh, squeezing my eyes shut. “No,” I admit.
As arrogant and rude as the prince is, he doesn’t seem interested in harming me. At least not yet. He might not be as bad as the lord, but alas, I didn’t come here to be enslaved by another.
When I reopen them, his head is cocked and he watches me with something akin to amusement dancing in his eyes.
He’s so hot and cold. One second he’s terrifying, the next, he’s stirring something dormant in me. It’s an inexplicable pull.
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
