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CHAPTER 1

RAPUNZEL

Idream of a man with amber eyes that glow like molten gold. His slitted pupils expand as he watches me from the shadows.

Every night, it’s the same. He is always just beyond reach, his features obscured by darkness. “You are mine,” he says, his voice deep, rich, and edged with a possessiveness that sends a delicious shiver rippling down my spine.

“Who are you?” I ask. “Tell me your name.”

A loud clap of thunder shatters my dream, startling me awake. My entire body is flushed, and my heart is pounding as I sit up in bed. Heavy rain lashes against the tower window. Reaching for my sketchbook on the side table, I flip to the page that holds the image that has haunted my dreams for the past three months.

The flickering glow from the hearth across the room dances over the drawing. The familiar eyes of my mysterious stranger stare back at me, their amber gold color vivid against the shadows that hide his face.

A strange longing aches in my chest as I trace my hand over the parchment. “Who are you?” I whisper.

Lightning flashes as thunder crashes overhead, shaking the room.

My heart clenches as I lift the covers and find a tiny ball of brown fur shivering against my side.

Finik raises his head, his cute little squirrel nose twitching furiously as his dark eyes meet mine. “It’s just a storm, Finik,” I soothe, gently stroking his fur and fluffy tail. “Nothing to worry about.”

Sitting up in bed, I glance around the tower room. Fire burns low in the hearth, casting wavering shadows over the entire space. Shelves line the curved stone walls, filled with novels, sketches, and jars of herbs.

The plush, worn sofa across the way is piled with folded, clean laundry. The two chairs beside it are covered with spools of yarn and thread from my novice attempts at knitting and crochet.

Strong wind howls from the storm outside, seeping through the small cracks around the window, swaying the green velvet curtains and the ivy trailing from a pot on the sill.

In the kitchen area, across the room, Finik’s woven basket nest rests beneath a wooden table, laden with dried flowers and healing ointments.

It’s cozy here—small, but safe. We’ve weathered many storms, but when another deafening crack of thunder slices the air, we both jump.

“All right, fine,” I mutter, holding him close. “Maybe it's not entirely normal. It’s been a while since we’ve had a storm this bad, but I promise you we're perfectly safe here.”

Finik squeaks doubtfully, his fluffy ears twitching.

A soft creak echoes from below and my breath freezes in my lungs. Finik stiffens, his tiny paws gripping my sleeve tightly.

“It's probably the wind,” I whisper.

The sound of a door slamming shut echoes up the stairwell, followed by heavy footsteps.

Worry spikes through me, but I force myself to push it back down. This part of the forest is surrounded by a magical barrier, concealing it from outside eyes. Even if someone somehow found a way through it, the door at the base of the tower is hidden by a thick layer of vines.

“We’re fine. I’m sure it’s just the storm,” I say under my breath, and I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more—myself or Finik. “There’s no way anyone could have discovered this place.”

With a heavy sigh, I start to lie back down but go still as the footsteps grow louder.

Finik chitters anxiously in my ear, his panic matching my own.

“Quiet,” I whisper urgently. “It could be bandits.”

My heart stops as someone knocks on the door. “Hello?” a man’s voice calls out. “Is anyone there?”

Finik and I remain silent, frozen in fear as the doorknob begins to rattle.

Quietly, I slide out of bed and grab the candlestick from my nightstand. The weight of the metal is reassuring in my trembling hands. Dressed only in my shift, my long silver-white braid trails behind me as I tiptoe across the room and then press myself against the wall, beside the door.

Finik scrambles up onto the bookshelf on the opposite side, his eyes wide, tail twitching nervously as we hear the bandit picking at the lock.