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A flinch.

There.

Her attention sharpened. I searched the air around her. “Two. If you require anything… you come directly to me.”

A slow breath slipped from her. I caught a tremble—a shiver. She didn’t like this. No. She didn’t like this at all.

“Three. Rafe handles everything outside this house. You don’t go with him.”

She shifted. Subtle. Her head tilted—toward the door.

“Four.” I paused. “You don’t speak to anyone outside this house without my approval. If you need it… it will be arranged.”

A quiet exhale.

I should’ve stopped.

I didn’t.

“Five.” I kept going. “You don’t wander. You’ll be assigned rooms you can move through freely. The library. The sitting room. The dining room. Your wing.”

The air grew heavy around her.

Not fear.

Something else.

“Six. You don’t leave your room after dark.”

That landed

Inside her.

Inside me.

“So this is a cage.”

I stilled. My chest tightened as I narrowed in around her.

Why wasn’t she cowering?

Why wasn’t she running for the door?

“You don’t want to talk to me. You don’t seem to want me here.” A beat. “So, why am I here… Alaric?”

Something tightened.

Low.

Unfamiliar.

That hidden animal inside me shivered.

She said my name.

Like it belonged there.

Because I said—the words rose—but slipped away like they were made of ash… or lies. I swallowed once. “I don’t know.”