Chapter 11

Ari

O ne more night.

I’d promised Mother and myself that I’d only see Salas for one more night, but my feelings about that oscillated wildly throughout the day.

One minute, I remembered his warm smile, his gentle touch, the comfort of his large body pressed against mine, and I couldn’t wait for the night. I wished he would be brought to my bedroom immediately, all the official meetings and formal dinners be damned.

The next minute, worry would torment me. I worried about both the physical things that still had to happen between us and the emotions I’d inevitably have once our last night was over.

In my mind, it remained clear—eventually, we had to part. There simply was no other option. But my heart already ached at that thought. I knew I’d miss him.

At dinner, I asked for a second glass of wine. I rarely drank more than one, but the slight intoxication muffled both the ache and the worry, and I embraced it tonight. I even grabbed another glass on the way to the drawing room afterwards.

Sipping my wine, I feigned interest in the conversation with two councilors who argued about the historical origins of the legislation titled Amendment to Guardianship. Furtively, I kept glancing at the doors of the room, waiting for Gem to arrive.

As she entered, she moved her gaze across the room and nodded slightly when finding me. That was a confirmation I’d been waiting for. Salas was here, in the palace.

My heart made a somersault, giving my mind a spin. I turned to the councilors, trying to keep my voice steady.

“The Amendment to Guardianship was signed into law by Queen Elle, Queen Anna’s great-great-grandmother,” I said to put their argument to rest. “Before then, it was only a tradition. The necessity for the legislation came after one of Lady Ecila’s tenants passed away, and her widower argued that he should be granted the guardianship of his daughter until she came of age to take over the lease of the land. The queen ruled that in line with our long-standing Succession Law, the guardianship should be granted to the closest female relative, not the father, which then went to the girl’s aunt. Now if you excuse me, ladies...” I gulped the rest of my wine, then placed the empty glass on the tray of the maid who happened to be passing by and headed for the door.

Taking a detour by the liquor stand, I grabbed an open bottle of wine and left the room.

SALAS WASN’T IN MY sitting room. Only the guards lingered around in their usual places. Their leader greeted me, “Your Highness.”

“Where is he?” I clutched the wine bottle in my hand as if holding on to a lifeline in a storming ocean.

“In the bedroom, as you requested.” The leader gestured at the door.

“Right. Thanks.” I took a swig from the bottle before pushing the door open.

Salas crouched by the table in front of the couch, assembling sandwiches from bread and cold cuts. The tea light was already burning bright under the teapot, with two cups waiting on their saucers.

“Good evening, Princess.” He beamed, turning to me. “Tea is almost ready.”

Longing tightened in my chest, as if my heart was squeezed by a gentle hand wearing a soft velvet glove. The tension of the day with all its worries drained from me, banished by Salas’s radiant smile.

The desire to come to him like this every night rushed me. For a moment, I believed I’d give everything just for him to wait for me here tomorrow and every day thereafter. But it was the one thing I could never have.

The longing in my chest changed from soft and warm to hard and hurting. I swung the bottle up to my mouth again, hoping for the fog of intoxication to muffle the pain.

Salas followed the bottle with his eyes, then got up from his crouch.

“How much of that have you had, Princess?”

I loved it when he called me princess. It sounded casual and friendly coming from him. Right now, however, he sounded unimpressed.

“Why do you need to know?” I licked my lips and shifted my weight to my other foot, swaying off balance a bit in the process.

He frowned.

“Just trying to gauge how long it’ll be until I’ll have to hold back your diamonds while you puke.” He tipped his chin at my dangling earrings that almost touched my shoulders and the several long strands of precious gemstones around my neck.

“Ah.” I plopped the bottle on a nearby stand, managing not to tip it over. “Don’t worry.” I took off the necklace, then slipped the earrings out of my ears and dropped them all on the stand next to the bottle. “See? No diamonds. No problems.”

I grabbed the bottle again, but he sauntered to me and intercepted my wrist on the way to my mouth.

“Why do you need this, Princess? Are you nervous? Scared? Is it because of me?”

Unnerved by his probing look, I closed my eyes. The air around us permeated with the scent of the fragrant oils that had been rubbed on his skin. But with the desperation of an addict, I searched for his own scent underneath.

I’d seen first-hand what an addiction looked like. I knew what it did to people, turning them first into raging monsters, then into trembling shadows, before slowly killing them in terrible ways. I knew it could start from just one use, so I hadn’t touched any drugs and never drank hard liquor. Yet I had no willpower to resist Salas. One kiss had proven enough for me to crave more of him to the point of insanity.

His hand remained wrapped around my wrist, and I made no attempt to free it.

“ Everything is because of you, Salas,” I muttered. Keeping my eyes closed made it easier to speak the truth. “What if you could be my everything?” I exhaled a bitter laugh, opening my eyes again. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

It might’ve been just a play of shadows and moonlight, but I glimpsed the reflection of my own longing in his eyes. I blinked, and it was gone.

His frown deepened. He took the bottle from me and lifted it to the light, inspecting the contents that now barely reached the half mark.

“In my defense, the bottle was open when I took it. I didn’t drink it all,” I assured him.

“You’ve drunk enough.”

“Are you scolding me? Even my mother doesn’t do that anymore.”

He lowered the bottle. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, Princess. But if you intend to get piss drunk, nothing will happen between us tonight.”

“Is that a threat?” I huffed.

“A warning. I avoid having sex with drunk women whenever I can.”

“And why is that?”

“Several reasons. Alcohol often muffles sensations, including pleasure. When drunk, you may not feel things as acutely as I wish for you to feel them. If you pass out and don’t remember in the morning the pleasure you had at night, then what’s the point of it all? But most importantly, people often see things differently when they’re drunk than when they’re sober. What you think you want while you’re intoxicated may be something you’ll loath the next day.”

“Or maybe I’ll just think I should loath it?” I challenged. “Alcohol lowers our inhibitions and lets us finally have what we crave.”

He raised his hand, as if to caress my face, but then dropped it without touching me.

“Either way,” he said softly, “I don’t want you to forget or regret a single moment spent with me.”

Staying away from him grew unbearable. I stepped closer, resting a hand on his chest.

“How could I ever regret you?”

I should tell him this was our last night, but just thinking about that hurt. I should tell him that the Queen of Rorrim was personally pursuing a full buy-out of his contract, but I feared he’d think I fished for his gratitude. I didn’t wish to bring the business of the day into our one last night together.

All I wanted was for him to kiss me again.

I rose to my tiptoes, lifting my face to his, and he took what I offered. His mouth claimed mine. His arms wrapped me into a tight hug. His body pressed against me.

I was exactly where I wished to be.

With a soft groan, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. I tangled my fingers in his hair, perfectly content to stay like that for the rest of the night if he so wished or for the rest of my life if Goddess let me.

Sadly, he unwrapped his arms from around me. With a long breath in, he stepped away, then grabbed a teacup from the table and a wine glass from the small curio cabinet in the corner.

“You want me to drink from a glass like a lady?” I smiled.

“No.” He handed me the cup of tea. “This is all you’ll drink for the rest of the night.”

“Just tea?”

“Like I said, nothing will happen if you’re drunk.”

“But I’m not drunk.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.” He tapped a finger against my teacup to emphasize his point. “We have unfinished business, Princess, and I really hope we’ll do more than just kissing before the sun is up.”

I brought the cup to my mouth and took a sip of tea to mask a shiver of apprehension... or was it anticipation that ran through my body? “Who is the glass for, then?”

“The glass is for me.”

He placed it on the stand, then took a linen napkin from the tea tray, folded it, and wrapped it around the neck of the bottle before pouring the wine with an elegant flip at his wrist.

“You’ve done this before,” I said, watching him.

“Once or twice,” he admitted before lifting the glass. “To you, Your Highness.”

“To our three-night stand,” I added.

He shrugged. “As good a toast as any.”

Bringing the glass to his lips, he took a long breath in, inhaling the aroma of the wine, then closed his eyes while taking a drink. He savored the scent and the taste like someone who knew how to appreciate both.

Salas served tea and poured wine with the skill that, I’d bet my crown, he didn’t acquire while carrying bricks.

The royal palace served fine, expensive wine, and Salas appeared to enjoy it. I waited for him to drink more, to empty his glass, and to refill it after. But he set it down on the stand after just one sip and moved away, seemingly uninterested.

“Dinner, Princess?” He gestured at the table.

I followed him, sitting down on the couch as he took the same place he’d had the first night—on the floor at my feet.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“No. I’ve eaten.”

“What did you eat?”

He arched an eyebrow at my question, as if surprised by my interest in his persona. “Potato stew.”

“How about some maple-cured red fish or smoked doe cheese?” I lifted a plate with the delicacies.

“Thanks, but I’m good.” He took the plate from me and put it back on the table, closer to me than to him.

I had a feeling he could eat more despite the potato stew he’d had for dinner, just like he could’ve drunk more wine, or like he could’ve kissed me until we both panted for breath. But he seemed to hold back on everything, as if afraid to indulge before he had to give it all up and return to his life of a slave.

He interrupted my thoughts by placing a hand on my knee. “Tell me, Princess, did you think about me today?”

“Did I?” I replied with a nervous laugh.

Had there been a minute when I did not think about Salas? Since the first moment I saw him, this man had occupied my thoughts for one reason or another pretty much permanently.

From his easy tone, I understood Salas wasn’t expecting that kind of confession. He was just trying to get me in the right mood by flirting a little.

“Yes,” I said simply. “I did think about you.”

He rose on his knees, positioning himself between my legs.

“When did you do it? In a meeting? During dinner?” His voice dropped a notch.

“Both,” I replied honestly.

He slid his hands up my thighs. “And what exactly did you think about?”

I’d thought about how to grant him his freedom, about how hard it’d be for me to part from him, and about how I would have to go on without seeing him again. I’d also fantasized about having his hands on me again. But I chose to mention only the last part to him now because I sensed that was what he wanted to hear.

“I thought about all the best parts of our last time together. Like your kisses...”

“Hmm, you like those, don’t you,” he hummed confidently.

“I do.”

He leaned toward me, and I met him halfway, eager to feel his mouth on mine. His kiss was gentle and sweet. The glide of his lips against mine remained measured and carefully controlled. Once again, Salas was holding back. Or maybe he was pacing himself?

My glasses fogged from our mingled breath, and I took them off. From this close, I didn’t need them to see him.

“This is a gorgeous dress, Your Highness.” He moved his hands up my sides, gliding them over the ivory silk of my evening gown—an A-line dress with long diaphanous scarves for sleeves. “But I’d like to take it off now.”

“Do it, then.” I arched my spine to give him access to the buttons on the back of the bodice.

“Way too many buttons,” he complained, even as his thick, calloused fingers did a quick job of undoing the tiny pearls.

“When did you learn to remove women’s clothes so quickly?” I quipped, but immediately added, “Actually, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know anything about your past lovers.”

“I don’t want to talk about them either,” he echoed, promptly distracting me with more kisses to the side of my neck. “I just want to keep kissing you. Here.” He pressed his lips to my collarbone. “And here.” He caressed my shoulder, sliding down the fabric of my dress. “And here.” He kissed the top of my breast, tugging the dress down.

My breathing turned shallow. Remnants of the past fears fluttered along the fringes of my awareness like ripples of shadows. But when Salas slid a hand inside my dress and cupped my breast, the only memories that came to mind were those of him touching me before. The gentle sensation of his hands on me had replaced any unwanted touch of others imprinted on my body.

I relaxed into his caress. He tugged my dress further down, and I freed my both arms, allowing him to push the bodice down to my waist.

He kissed the tips of my breasts, then sucked a nipple into his mouth, rolling the hardened bud between his teeth gently. Desire coursed through my veins, heating my blood. With it, a lick of darkness seeped through from my past.

I tensed, but Salas kissed my lips again and whispered sweet nothings into my ear until the shadows receded and all that remained was him, the calm night, and the moonlight.

“Let me kiss you everywhere, sweetheart,” he murmured, pushing my skirt up and into my lap.

Everywhere.

His breath warmed my skin as he kissed down my body. He hooked his fingers under the waistband of my underwear, and I lifted my hips, letting him take it off.

Anticipation pulsed through me with an anxious beat. He must’ve sensed the tension gripping me all over again.

“You’re in control, Princess,” he assured me. “Remember, you can stop me anytime.”

He kissed between my breasts, then down my stomach. Dipping his head lower, he pressed a kiss to my inner thigh. Heat rushed through my chest and pooled in my lower belly. At the same time, my back stiffened, and my legs strained, as if ready to bolt.

To run...

That was how I’d survived. By always running.

Memories fought to break through once again, but I pushed them away. This was Salas. He didn’t belong to my past. He was here. Now. His touch was unlike anything else. Gentle and skilled, it was meant to bring me nothing but pleasure.

Sliding his hands up my thighs, he parted them. His thumb stroked me lightly, like a caress of a butterfly wing. I sucked in a breath as my inner muscles flexed, sending a rush of heat and pleasure through my core.

Circling my right ankle with his fingers, he placed my left foot on his shoulder.

“Let me kiss you here, my sweet Princess...” He lowered his head between my thighs, then glanced up before going any further.

I stared at him, wide-eyed, torn between thrill and terror.

“It’s just me, Ari. You can trust me to make you feel good.” He gave me a kind smile, and my heart melted.

“I’m glad it’s you, Salas.” I nodded. “I trust you.” I lifted my right leg over his other shoulders, parting my legs wider for him.

Sweet, achy pleasure spread through my body as he flicked his tongue against me. My arms jerked. I wished to wrap them around him, to hold him to me, to fist my hands into his hair. But I clutched my skirts instead. I feared that too many sensations would overwhelm me. Too much of Salas would consume me, and I’d never want to let go of him ever again.

Tossing my head back, I closed my eyes and focused on his tongue and the sensations he created with it in my body.

He started so slowly and gently, I could barely feel his touch. The teasing grew more tantalizing, making me moan and squirm. When I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, he pressed harder, even nibbling lightly.

I pushed my feet into his shoulders, lifting my hips toward him. He gripped my thighs, working me harder still, and I had no choice but to let go.

An orgasm rocked me. I gasped for air, feeling like I was falling, further and further down into a whirlpool of never-ending pleasure.

I couldn’t stand the intensity. It pressed on my chest. My eyes prickled with tears.

Maybe it was the wine, after all. Maybe the stress of the day had caught up with me. Or maybe knowing that I’d have to say goodbye to him in the morning devastated me more than I dared to admit.

Pleasure broke the gates of my composure, and when it ebbed, sorrow flooded me instead. I jerked my feet from his shoulders and closed my legs.

“What’s wrong?” His deep drawl vibrated with worry as he reached for me. “Ari, sweetheart, what happened?”

He used my nickname that he’d probably overheard from Gem and thought it’d help to calm me. Climbing onto the couch, he dragged me onto his lap. I wanted to melt into his body and soak up every drop of comfort his closeness often gave me, but something prodded against my thigh. Hard and persistent. His erection.

I went stiff. My muscles locked so hard it hurt.

“Calm, Ari...” He stroked down my arm. “Relax...”

“Relax and enjoy.” The words echoed in my mind, triggering the memories I did not want to revisit. But with my defenses down, I could no longer hold them back. I couldn’t fight the darkness.

“If it happens, just lay back and enjoy.”

The words boomed through my brain like an explosion, flooding my mind with shame and horror.

“No.” I scrambled off his lap and crawled to the opposite end of the couch. “Don’t touch me. Don’t... Please.”

He sat back, lifting his hands up, his palms facing me, as if to show he meant no harm. I knew he didn’t. Yet I could no longer breathe with him in the room.

“Ari?” He stared at me in shock. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Not you, Salas. But everyone who’s come before you.”

I curled into myself. Tears welled in my eyes. I dreaded them spilling over. Hugging my arms, I tried in vain to hold on to my composure, hating to break down in front of him.

“Come here,” he pleaded. “Tell me what I can do to make it better?”

I trembled, torn between the need for comfort he offered and the instinct to run.

Run.

Always running. That was how I’d survived. Until I had nowhere to run anymore.

His erection pushed against the thin material of his sarong. He traced my terrified stare to it.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said firmly. “It’s just a physical reaction of my body. I can’t control it. But I can control my actions. Nothing will happen unless you want it.”

His crestfallen expression devastated me. Salas had been kind to me. Patient and gentle. He’d done nothing wrong. I hated for him to blame himself for my past.

I wished to explain it to him, but I wasn’t sure how.

“You wanted to know how far I’ve come with a man...” I cleared my throat, struggling to put into words what I’d been trying so hard to forget. “I was thirteen. I ran away from the village where I was born. You see... My parents, the people who gave birth to me, drank a lot. They fought. My dad killed my mom, then tried to sell me to feed his addiction.”

The shock on Salas’s face should’ve stopped me, but I’d finally found the words for things I never spoke about, and it was impossible to hold them back now.

“I escaped and ran to the city.”

There wouldn’t have been a happy ending to my story if it wasn’t for Queen Anna, I firmly believed that. Happiness had stayed away from me, even as I’d searched for it with the desperation of a woman obsessed.

How na?ve I’d been, thinking that life in the city would be better. Many changes had happened in the country at that time, and changes always meant someone came up on top and someone was left behind, unable to adapt. Desperation reigned among those on the very bottom.

“I had no place to go and ended up sleeping in an alley,” I recalled. “I had no money. During the day, I wandered the streets in search of something to eat. Grocery stores were harder to steal from. But in the open market, some merchants could beat people to death for shoplifting. Exhausted, I fell asleep on a park bench the first night, only to wake up a little while later to someone trying to climb on top of me while shoving his hands in my pants. I kicked him off me and ran, then hid in an alley behind a dumpster. I slept with one eye open, in a constant state of readiness to either fight or run.”

Dark shapes emerging from the street, like shadows peeling from the night...

I closed my eyes, but it proved harder that way. Seeing Salas’s face gave me strength to continue.

“A group of men found me. Someone always found me, no matter how much I tried to hide. They said it was their territory where I hid. They said I had to pay them for sleeping there. They beat me. Broke my ribs and twisted my arm...”

The pain had been excruciating. But blinding, paralyzing fear had dowsed the pain.

“I don’t know how many there were, but...” I drew in a breath, resolved to finish telling him what I’d started. “They were all going to rape me. I cried. I said I was only thirteen. That I had no parents or anyone to take care of me. No home. Their leader said they’d let me be if I... sucked him off every time he came by. He put a gun to my head...”

In his mind, the thug must’ve felt good about himself, noble even, offering me his protection in exchange for blow jobs. It was a shitty choice. But it was the only choice I had.

“I did it, Salas...”

I had not recalled this part in any detail since the night it happened and now, the disgusting images flooded my mind like filth from a backed-up sewer.

Their leader gripped my hair and fucked my mouth until I gagged. Thankfully, he finished before I got sick. Otherwise, I believed he would’ve shot me. I threw up on the pavement right after. They laughed. That was when the melicia showed up.

The local melicia conducted raids every now and then. They made it look like they were “cleaning the scum from the city.” But what they really did was collect bribes. Those who could pay them off were left alone to do as they pleased. When the sirens of their cars blared, everyone ran, and that was the only time when I did not.

“When the city melicia showed up right after,” I said, “I walked out of that alley and let them arrest me. I figured jail couldn’t be worse than living on the street. When the authorities learned how young I was, they sent me to an orphanage.” I cleared my throat again. It felt dry like sandpaper and tight, so tight, I could barely breathe. “And that was my closest experience to having sex with a man, Salas...”

He looked at me, but I wasn’t sure what he saw. The expression on his face was as if a bomb had just exploded around us, rearranging our surroundings, and he was still trying to figure out where all the pieces had fallen.

“Ari.” He reached for me.

My foot on the couch was the closest part of my body to him. I yanked it away, tucking both my legs under me. His hand ended up landing on the satin upholstery of the seat.

“Ari?”

Ari was a princess. She was confident, powerful, and brave. But she wasn’t me. She couldn’t be. Because I felt scared, lost, and helpless all over again.

“My name is Ira,” I told him.

“Ira is her name. Ira, Irina,” Dad’s raspy voice shook with need and desperation, sounding as real as on that night.

Everything I’d tried so hard to leave behind followed me into this world where I’d thought I’d be safe.

“Ira was what they called me back in the place where I grew up. It wasn’t a happy place, Salas. Everyone drank. Men and women. When sober, they were hurting and angry, so very angry. Fights were common. My parents screamed and fought all the time. One of the first things I learned in life was to hide. I remember always wishing I could turn invisible because if they didn’t see me, they couldn’t hit me.”

“I... I had no idea.” His eyes glistened in the dim light of the room.

“For a while, it was better in the orphanage,” I kept talking, unable to stop. “I tried to forget about the past. I believed that if I didn’t think about it, it would just disappear. Because what is the past but our memories? Without memories, it can’t exist. I focused on school because math and grammar filled my mind with things that didn’t cause pain. I didn’t know what was actually happening in the girls’ bedroom at night. I still don’t know how many girls had been hurt by the man who was supposed to protect and look after us, before... Before he tried to hurt me.” I ran both hands down my face. Why wouldn’t the memories stop pounding against my skull? I was purging them. Shouldn’t it feel lighter inside me now? Instead, darkness thickened, heavy and suffocating. “That night, I had nowhere to run. I should’ve been dead, or raped, or both. But instead, I ended up here, in Rorrim. People say it was a miracle, and I don’t see how it could’ve been anything else.” I lifted my head to see his face. “Salas, why would men look at a woman and see an object instead of a person? Why do they think she was put on this Earth to be used by them? Why do men feel such an entitlement to a woman’s body? And why are there always people, both men and women, who enable that delusion? The more power a man has, the more he gets away with, the less there is a chance for him to be held accountable.”

“It’s not just men, Princess. And not just where you came from.” His voice boomed through the night, but instead of tearing the darkness to shreds, it made it press down heavier.

This wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

It couldn’t be...

My mind reeled. Reality spun off its axis.

“You have no idea what that world is like,” I snapped. “You don’t know...”

But deep inside, I had a feeling that he knew . From the very first moment I’d laid my eyes on this man, I felt he understood me. Because his past must be similar to mine in some ways. Only how could it be when his past was worlds apart from mine?

The terrible things that happened on the other side of the mirror couldn’t possibly happen here.

“It’s not true.” I shook my head so hard, it was a miracle my neck didn’t snap in half. “Not in Rorrim.”

This world was supposed to be safe for everyone, ruled by the wise and just queen, my mother.

“Take a look outside of the palace walls, Princess.”

“No. You don’t understand.” I scrambled off the couch. “It’s not the same. It just can’t be. In Rorrim, crimes are punished. Justice always prevails. Misogyny simply doesn’t exist. The system works—”

“Ari, listen to me.”

“No...” I kept shaking my head.

Staring at him now was like looking into the dark tunnel inside the mirror. I dreaded what would leap out at me with his next words. My stomach churned, threatening to expel my dinner. With trembling fingers, I gathered the bodice of my dress and yanked it up to cover my chest.

“You should go,” I said, avoiding looking at him.

I’d allowed my past into my present, and its darkness soiled my light, filling me with shame and regret. I’d let Salas touch me. He’d seen me naked and at my most vulnerable. And now, he knew my secrets... All of them.

“Please, Salas. Leave.”

Moonlight flooded the patio outside, spilling into the bedroom through the open doors. I stepped away from him and could no longer see his expression with my glasses off, but it was better that way. I just prayed he wouldn’t talk again. I needed his silence to hide behind.

He got off the couch and collected his cloak. Sorrow gripped my heart. How did he get a hold of me like that in such a short time?

Worry surged next. In my frazzled state, I couldn’t focus enough to analyze all the ways my past could be used against me, but if Salas wished to inflict harm, he surely could. This man now knew more about me than anyone else in Rorrim.

Panic pushed me to stop him.

“Wait!”

He glanced at me over his shoulder from the door, ready to leave with his hood on already.

“I... I need you not to speak to anyone about what you heard tonight.”

He scoffed softly. “Is that what you think I’ll do? Run my mouth about what you told me when we were alone?”

I didn’t think . I panicked. I no longer had control over my own past. It was now in his possession to do with as he pleased.

“I don’t want anyone else to know... Please.”

I anxiously swept the room with my gaze. The sparkling mound of diamonds on the side stand caught my attention. The moonlight shimmered in their perfect facets, breaking into a million tiny stars.

“Here.” I scooped them all, both earrings and the necklace. “Take these.” I shoved them into his hands that were large enough to hide the gems completely.

“Your diamonds for my silence?” he muttered, and I couldn’t tell whether he sounded stunned or disappointed. Maybe both?

Before I could figure out what else to offer him, he shoved the bedroom door open with his shoulder. With my clothes in disarray, I leaped away from the light that burst into the room, keeping out of sight of the guards who camped in my sitting room.

“The princess needs her rest,” Salas announced, loudly. “Let’s go, girls.” He kicked the bedroom door closed behind him.

But there was no resting for me that night.