Page 7 of Blackwarden

Keres

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She wasn’t like the others. Her emotions were erratic, intense, and distracting.

And she could see my horns. I’d noticed her brilliant green eyes trace over them when I’d greeted her.

It only made me wonder what else she could see when she stared at me.

The Gatehouse took such careful precautions to craft the glamour that made me look as human as possible to these maidens.

It wasn’t something I could control. It happened when I traveled through the portal.

Why was she different?

Even more perplexing were her questions, so many tedious questions.

None of the other maidens bothered asking for much more than my name.

Their terror a visceral thing that squeezed their throats and made it hard for them to speak to me.

It was easier that way. I didn’t need to get to know them, and they definitely didn’t need to get to know me.

But this one...I had to keep reminding myself why she was here.

There was something so charming about the way her cheeks turned bright pink when I’d answered her questions with more questions.

Her frustration was a living creature that seemed to tease me as I memorized the shape of her face.

Part of me struggled to look away and it didn’t help that I knew my staring was driving her crazy.

I glared at my reflection in my mirror. Pale skin, black hair, dark eyes. No horns. I saw the same thing all the maidens could see. So, why was Rosalin different?

What else could she see?

“What are you doing?” I asked the Gatehouse aloud.

I didn’t expect a response. I’d never gotten one before.

I wandered to my window and gazed out at the eternal nothingness that was the black leaves of the surrounding forest. She was older than the other maidens had been but that was likely only because most of the human girls were wed by the age of eighteen in an effort to avoid being chosen as a sacrifice.

And she’d lied about that too. I’d seen it the moment she hesitated.

It was a split second, but it was there.

A break in eye contact, a moment to construct a response.

But why lie about this? She’d either been selected or someone else had.

In all my time of taking the maidens through the portal to my queen, I’d never had a single one who’d volunteered.

I took a deep breath and reminded myself in the end it didn’t matter. She was here at my Gatehouse, the Hag Queen’s newest maiden. In seven days, she’d be gone, whether she was different or exactly the same as all the others.