Page 109 of Of Masks and Fury

No more.

“If you continue to threaten him,” I said, my voice steady despite the terror coursing through me. “You lose the only leverage you have over me. I’ll stand at that altar and tell Lord Alfred exactly what kind of man you are. I’ll scream it to every guest. I’ll make such a scene that no lord in the kingdom will want our family’s taint in their house.”

I stepped closer, ignoring how he loomed over me. “Threaten me all you want, but we both know you need me compliant more than you need me terrified.”

Father’s jaw clenched. “You think you’re clever.”

“I think I’m done being your pawn.”

The threat hung in the air between us.

“Guards will be posted outside your door,” Father said. “Don’t try to leave. Don’t call for help. Your wedding will happen at dawn whether you’re conscious for it or not.”

He left, barking orders in the corridor.

Pherin perched in a tree outside, her small form barely visible in the darkness. A guard shouted and opened the window, throwing something at her.

She took flight, disappearing into the night.

Turning, I stared around the room, wondering what I could do to get us out of this.

I stalked into my bedroom and went behind the screen, stripping off my wet clothing and tugging on a tunic and pants. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall, plotting.

Trew was in the dungeon. Pherin was gone. Lexie and Kerralyn wouldn’t be able to get past the guards. Had they been caught and were they in cells too?

And in a short time, I would be forced to marry Lord Alfred.

I thought of Eva lying cold in her cell. Of Addie’s hair caught in the restraints. Of all the evidence we’d found in the tower, proof of horrors I suspected my father was complicit in.

And I could not fix anything.

The night crawled past with agonizing slowness. I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t.

I paced my chambers like a caged animal, testing every option.

The windows were locked, but fuck that. I forced one open, breaking the catch, and stuck my head out. I’d climb all the way to the ground, storm or not. But guards had been stationed below. One looked up at me and smirked, tapping the weapon strapped to his side.

I moved to the outer door, pressing my ear against the wood. From the sounds in the hall, there were at least four guards outside, maybe five based on the shuffle of boots and low voices. They’d change watch every few hours, the new guards arriving well rested while the old ones would leave with yawns stretching across their faces.

I retreated to my bedroom and knelt beside my bed, pulling out the loose floorboard I’d discovered years ago. My childhood hiding spot still held treasures, including a broken necklace from my deceased grandmother, a few coins I’d hoarded, and wrapped in a cloth was a small knife Thorne had given me on my fifteenth birthday. In the bathing chamber, I studied the grate near the ceiling. It appeared too small for me to fit through, but large enough to pass a message if I could reach someone on the other side. If Pherin returned. If Mae could get inside my rooms, I’d enlist her help.

Too many ifs.

I tucked the knife into my boot. It wouldn’t be enough to fight my way past guards, but it did give me options.

I returned to the sitting room, finding two guards now stationed inside. Faint voices in the hall reached me, guards talking about Trew being locked up tight in the dungeon.

“Water,” I said, making my voice crack. “Please. I need water.”

The younger guard hesitated, then moved toward the side table where a pitcher sat.

The older one’s attention followed him.

Half a second. That’s all the opening gave me, but I memorized it. If I could create a larger distraction and make them both move at once…

But then what? I’d never make it past the guards in the corridor. And even if I did, I’d risk my father hurting Trew.

I perched onto the settee, curling my hands into fists on my thighs.