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“We should tell the warden!” Hadia beamed.

I would not admit that both Roar and I had seen the harem, or that Roar remained there.

“Do what you will.” I lifted my chin. “I’ll be going to my rooms now.” I wove around them, in the direction that the messenger had gone.

“We didn’t say that you could leave,” Calpurnia snarled. “You might have entranced a warden and Saga might have indulged you, but I will do no such thing. I’m a lady fae of a great house, and you are a commoner. You will wait until I release you.”

I most certainly wouldn’t, and as I did not turn and acknowledge her, I trusted the trio would get the hint.

I did not, however, expect to be bowled over by a wave of air magic. I gasped and fell to the floor, my hands catching me before my face hit.

“How dare you!” Calpurnia shrieked and another stream of power slammed into me, the wind so powerful it flattened me to the ground. “How dare you ignore your betters!”

“Let me!” Adila’s soft voice cooed, malicious and conniving. A moment later, a bed of air lifted me and left my feet dangling well above the ground.

“Let me down,” I growled, furious, embarrassed, and worried. Unlike these ladies, I had no magic to draw upon.

Adila shrugged. “If you wish.”

I dropped, and only a clumsy fluttering of my wings prevented me from collapsing. The girls laughed.

“Did you see that? Can you even fly properly?” Hadia scoffed. “Or are you an idiot?”

“Better an idiot than a highborn lady looked over by a commoner, don’t you think?” I regretted the words the moment I said them. The ladies’ faces grew stoney, and magic built in the air. So I did the only thing I could do; I spun and ran.

“Get her!” Calpurnia shrieked. “I’m going to tear up that pretty face!”

Footsteps followed, slamming against the stone ground, and magic shot by me. One blast of air came so close that my hair flew around my face. I pushed my legs, willing them to go faster. Within seconds, the sounds of the ladies following me dimmed.

“Fly!” Adila screamed. “We have to catch her!”

Bleeding skies, they might be slow runners, but I would bet they weren’t slow fliers. I cast a wild glance around, looking for a place to hide. Heavy tapestries lined both sides of the wall, from floor to ceiling. Would they do?

As the ladies’ voices got closer, I realized it was my only shot. I could not outrun someone in flight, nor could I fly well enough yet to beat those who’d been flying all their lives. Quickly, I dashed to the wall and slid behind the tapestry, willing myself to become as small as possible, pressing my back into the wall.

Then, my hand brushed metal. I gasped. A door? Had I stumbled on a hidden tower like the one Saga had shown me?

The voices sounded far enough away, and I didn’t know where the door led, but figured it would make a better hiding spot than this. Slowly, I twisted the handle and pulled open the door. A faint flash of light nearly blinded me. I stopped, and the skin on my arms prickled. Had they seen that?

“This way!” Calpurnia screamed.

I sucked in a breath. Whatever that light and the sensation had been, whatever they might do to me, I had to risk it. I pushed the door and slid through.

Once on the other side, I closed the door and pressed my back to the wood.

My chest heaved, but I forced myself to quiet my breath and to listen for the highborn ladies.

Had they turned around?

No. They had been so determined to hurt me. But I kept listening, and no sounds filtered through the wall. I pressed off, sure the trio would have passed the area. I would be safe for now.

Exhaling, I looked around. I wasn’t in a stairwell, like the one Saga had shown me that led up to her secret tower, but rather a wide corridor. One that smelled stale, as if they had not cleaned it in a long time.

I cocked my head. From what I’d seen, the servants kept Frostveil Palace immaculate.

As I didn’t want to poke my head back into the hallway yet, I strolled down the corridor, trying to pinpoint where I was in the palace.

The further I got, the more confused I became.