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Slamming the doors with a sigh, I drag my feet after Ken as we head toward the back of the castle.
“You can exit into the back or side yards,” he says. “Plenty of fresh air and freedom.” He gives me a sidelong glance. “You just can’t leave the grounds or go out the front.”
“Clearly,” I mumble.
I’m still a prisoner, is what he means.
My extended freedoms are fake. Granted on Rainer’s terms only.
thirteen
What Do They Get Out of This?
Alessia
A feminine shriek pierces my ears.
It rings out loud and angry, reminding me of the moment Lady Nilda found her husband bleeding out on her kitchen floor.
I blink, and the image of Char in her last moments fills my vision. Of the lady advancing on me.
My chest tightens, and I lose my breath.
Panicked, I duck down behind a bush of pale pink roses, squeezing my eyes shut. The sharp clang of metal reaches my ears, along with some grunting.
“A little overeager, Viveka,” Rainer’s voice says from somewhere out of sight. The sound loosens the knot in my chest. “More patience before you strike.”
Slowly, I reopen my eyes. Ironically, the prince’s voice is like a balm to my fear. Knowing it’s him and Viveka, not the lord or lady, offers me a sense of safety.
My breath hitches in my throat. I’m caught off guard by the realization.
That I’m feeling… safe here.
Ken squats down in the bushes next to me, and I turn my attention to him, steadying my rapid pulse.
“She’s a durable gal, that Viv,” he whispers, with a bright smile. “Before you can be rude and ask what kind of fae she is, she’s a shifter.”
“I wouldn’t ask.” My cheeks flush. Yes I would.
“You’re lying, but that’s all right.”
“Great. You can smell when I’m lying?” I ask, resigned.
“Smell? No.” His shoulders shake with silent laughter. “Your breathing and heart rate increased, and unless you’re incredibly aroused or frightened right now, I’d say you’re lying to me.”
“Definitely not aroused,” I mutter. And I don’t like that he’d be able to tell if I was.
“I didn’t think so. That I’d be able to smell.”
“That’s…incredibly uncomfortable to know.” I refuse to look him in the eye after that tidbit.
He seems unfazed.
“Ya gonna tell me what we’re doing in the bushes, little human?”
“I—” What do I even say? Someone screamed and I got so scared that my first reaction was to hide in the rose bush? He already thinks I'm weak, that I need training to become even a useful sparring dummy.
So, I improvise. I take a huge inhale of a nearby bright pink rose as if that was my intention all along.
