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“Here we are,” Morgan said as the maidservant opened the door. I stepped into the room, started to take a look around, but was cut short by athunkfrom behind me.

Tensing, I spun on my feet. Morgan and the maidservant had gone, leaving me alone in here. The lock clicked. My hands clenched. I was trapped inside.

Eight

Tessa

The room was…fine, if you were someone who enjoyed the soulless eyes of dead animals watching your every movement. It seemed someone—likely the king—had a penchant for hunting. One wall held an array of conquered prey, heads stuffed full of what smelled strangely like lavender. A curious choice, and I couldn’t help but wonder, what was the point? Did making it smell nice cover up the strange brutality of it all?

I tried not to look at any of them too carefully, even though I was no stranger to the hunt. We didn’t eat much meat back home, but what we did, we had to trap ourselves. Rabbits, squirrels, birds. Since we were not allowed to own knives, we’d gotten crafty. Humans had learned a long time ago to do whatever it took to survive.

Still, this was something else. It wasn’t about survival at all.

Thankfully, the other wall held no creepy eyes, but it did have a barred window. Heavy wooden shutters hung on the stone on either side of it, the fae’s solution to creating enough darkness for sleep. Now, those shutters were wide open, and steady sunlight streamed in, basking the four-poster bed in its yellow glow.

Crossing the room, I peered outside, thankful that I was so far above the city. No one could see me up here. I knelt and extracted my hidden dagger. They’d want me to change out of this gown soon, and I wouldn’t be surprised if servants were sent to tend to me. I couldn’t risk them catching me with this thing strapped to my leg.

I glanced around the room. Other than the bed, the only furniture was a tiny round table, a chair, and full-length mirror propped up in one of the corners.

The mattress it was.

I tiptoed across the floor. Dropping to one knee, I shoved the dagger beneath the thick mattress, wincing when my hand caught on the wood. I yanked my hand back out. Blood pooled on my finger where a splinter dug deep into my skin. It healed almost instantly.

The door clicked and swung open.

I jerked up to my feet, my heart hammering my ribs. Before they could spot the blood, I shoved my hand behind my back and pasted on a false smile.

Morgan and the maidservant hovered in the doorframe. The mortal girl kept her eyes glued to the floor, but Morgan sized me up, brows pinched together.

“Everything all right in here?” she asked with a brutal calmness.

I pressed my lips together.

“You may speak freely inside this room,” she reminded me.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

She did not look convinced. “Maidservant has brought you some food. We thought you might be hungry after such an exciting start to your day.”

My stomach had the indecency to growl, betraying me. I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast. My gut had been too twisted up in knots ahead of the Festival of Light, and I’d been whisked away while the rest of the village feasted after the king’s choice. It wasn’t like me to skip a meal.

Still, as hungry as I was, I didn’t think I could stomach food.

“I’m not hungry.”

Morgan took the tray from the maidservant and inclined her head toward the door. The girl vanished into the corridor. My guard placed the tray on the table with an air of detached civility, but there was something about the way she moved that seemed lethal. The stillness before the pounce.

“This will go a lot easier for you if you just accept what’s happening.” She motioned at the room. “You only have to endure this for a month while we finish all the preparations for the wedding.”

I arched a brow. “And then I have to endurehimfor seventy-five years.”

Instead of acknowledging my comment, she continued. “I think you understand how the king behaves when someone defies him. Now that you’re his intended, he won’t lay a hand on you. You’re far too valuable to him for that kind of punishment. But he can grind your spirit into the ground until there is nothing left of it, even in as little as a month. Just accept what is happening, Tessa. Do what you are told and keep your lips shut. I would hate to see him break you.”

I scoffed, even as my heart faltered at her words. “Don’t pretend you care.”

She shook her head. “I should have known you wouldn’t listen. Fine, speak your mind in front me all you like if that helps. But quiet yourself around everyone else. That includes your maidservant. She may be a mortal, like you, but she does not share your beliefs.”

“Don’t speak as though you knowanythingabout my beliefs,” I shot back.