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Chapter 3

The next morning, the sound of the door opening wakes me. A woman stands in the doorway, her chafed skin hinting at long hours spent in the cold. She looks my age, her blue eyes meeting mine with curiosity before shifting away.

“I’m Abigail. Follow me, please,” she says, glancing at me before noticing Lilith, who is already awake and watching her warily.

We sit up quickly and head for the door. Peering into the hall, I see Abigail waiting at the end. She waves us forward, and we follow obligingly. She leads us to a large kitchen where people are busy preparing food and washing dishes.

One thing I notice is all their slaves are human or at least appear to be. The room is huge and modern looking, different from the rest of the castle’s traditional look. It has stainless steel appliances and black marble counter tops, a huge island sat in the middle with three women standing around it chopping different fruit and vegetables.

The moment we step inside, eyes snap to mine before quickly darting away—only to flick back again.

A woman in the middle nudges her friend, and her brown eyes widen as a huge grin spreads across her freckled face. Her wild red hair is untamed, matching the excitement in her voice.

“A Fae,” she whispers.

At her words, the entire room falls silent, all eyes shifting to Lilith and me.

Abigail clears her throat, her tone sharp. “Yes, the girl is a Fae. Now get back to work and stop gawking.”

The workers quickly drop their stares and resume their tasks. Abigail hands each of us an apple and motions for us to follow.

We eat as we trail behind her, stopping at a massive cupboard in the hall. She opens the doors, revealing shelves stocked with cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, and a cart. A cleaning cupboard.

“You will both be cleaning the library at the front of the castle, when you’re done with that, come and see me for more work” she tells me, pushing a cart with cleaning supplies toward me and pointing us in the direction of the library.

I creep down the stone corridors toward the front of the castle, stopping when we reach the room I noticed yesterday. Pushing the cart aside, I grab a cloth and polish, handing Lilith a duster.

“Do the blinds,” I tell her, then start tidying the desk, its oak surface dull beneath my rag. I move to the mantle, dusting and polishing in silence. So much wood, so many lamps—it feels endless.

Lilith finishes the blinds and starts wiping down the lamps while I tackle the bookshelves. Most of the books are diaries or volumes on the creatures roaming the earth.

When I reach the last shelf, I freeze. Every book is on Fae history.

Most records of our people and magic were destroyed after the war, yet here they were—hundreds of them. My grandmother had only one, always kept hidden. Yet here, they stood in plain sight.

My fingers skim over the leather-bound spines, a connection to a past long buried, when a throat clears behind me.

Turning around, I see Matitus standing behind me, making me jump, my backside brushing up against the bookshelf. He is staring at the book my fingers were touching. His eyes darken as they move back to mine which makes my heart rate pick up and a chill crawl up my spine making me fight the urge to shiver under his deadly gaze.

“What were you doing?” he asks. I want to shrink under his hardened gaze.

“I was just looking, I didn’t mean anything by it,” I say, my heart skipping a beat.

He nods and sits at the desk, his gaze never leaving me. Unmoving. Unrelenting.

As soon as I finish, Lilith and I hurry out in search of Abigail.

She escorts me upstairs while Lilith stays in the kitchen to help clean. When Abigail opens the door, I realize it’s the same room from yesterday. She hands me a basket of cleaning supplies, then retrieves fresh linen, placing it on the chaise.

“When you’re done here, you’re finished for the day. You can go back to your room,” she says, then turns and leaves without waiting for a response.

I strip the bed, dumping the used linen beside the basket, then remake it with fresh sheets. Moving to the adjoining bathroom, I take in its size—as big as the bedroom. Three sink basins line one wall, a massive shower on the other, with three showerheads spaced evenly.

The bathroom takes the longest. Too much stainless steel, too much glass. I’m wiping down the sink and mirror when I see Matitus in the reflection.

He leans against the doorframe, eyes locked on me. He doesn’t speak. Just watches.

When I am done, he saunters out and takes a seat at the chaise when I notice Dragus sitting on the edge of the bed. I gulp realizing I am in a room with two predators by myself. I suddenly wish Lilith was with me. Both of them are watching me.