I paced the room like a caged animal, barefoot on cold marble that felt more like ice than flooring.
Every step I took echoed back at me, mocking me, and reminding me that this wasn't a room.
I dragged my fingers through my tangled hair, breathing too fast. Valerius's scent still clung to the walls, rich leather, smoke, and something sharp that never left my lungs no matter how long I'd been here.
I needed to escape. Not tomorrow, not in an hour, but now. Now!
I needed to escape before someone ooens the doors, and remembers I'm still breathing.
I rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window and shoved the glass door aside. The wind rushed at me like a warning, slapping strands of my hair across my face. I stepped out onto the balcony.
The city lights glittered like broken glass scattered across velvet. The height, God, the height hit me like a fist to the chest. I gripped the railing so tightly my knuckles burned white.
I forced myself to lean forward.
One glance down and my entire body jerked backward on instinct. Jesus Christ, the height was too high, too far, and impossible.
I swallowed hard and stepped forward again, shaking. My palm slid along the cold metal. The wind cut across my face again, harsher this time, as if nature itself wanted to shove me back inside.
However, I leaned forward, and looked down.
I jerked away for the second time, stumbling into the balcony table. My heart hammered so hard that ithurt.
Even a rope wouldn't save me. A miracle wouldn't even save me if I jump down from this height.
Why did he put me here? On the highest floor of the tallest wing of his estate?
There was no stairs leading down, only an elevator that requires his card, his fingerprint, his approval. This was torture.
Did he foresee this? Did he predict I'd try to run? Was he watching me right now?
I pressed my back against the glass door, with my breath trembling out of me. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Calm down," I whispered to myself. "Think. Think. You've survived worse."
But I hadn't. Nothing in my entire life had come close to this.
I stepped back inside, sliding down the wall until I was sitting on the floor with my knees to my chest. I wrapped my arms around myself, trembling so violently it felt like my bones might rattle out of place.
I didn't want to die. And at the same time, I also couldn't stay here. I don't want to stay here. This fight should be among bored old men, not someone like me who has no idea what was going on.
The silence pressed in tightly. Too tightly, until I could hear my heartbeat thudding against the cage of my ribs.
A lone tear left my eyes. I need my dad. It's been twenty-four hours and counting. Why wasn't he here yet?
A soft click made me wipe my tears immediately. The unmistakable sound of the door unlocking froze me.
My stomach dropped. My breath froze, and ice climbed up my spine. No, not now. Not him. Please not him—
Fortunately and unfortunately, it wasn't Valerius.
It was her.
Zetheal stepped inside like she owned the air in the room. Her presence sucked the warmth out of the world. She wore black again with her hair twisted up like a crown she didn't deserve. Her eyes were sharp enough to cut.
She closed the door behind her with a soft click, then leaned against it with a smirk that didn't reach her eyes.
"Well," she said, her voice silk and dipped in poison. "Look at you. Barefoot and shaking. Trying to grow wings, are we?"
I forced myself to stand.
I didn't know where the strength came from. Perhaps fear. Maybe desperation. Or maybe it came from the last fragment of pride I hadn't lost yet.
She tilted her head, her gaze flicking to the balcony behind me.
"Oh," she breathed, amused. "You were actually considering it."
I said nothing.
She took a slow step toward me, then another. Her boots clicked on the marble, echoing like a countdown. I won't lie, each step she took made me gulp.
"When Valerius told me you were getting restless," she continued, "I didn't believe him. You looked too pathetic to try anything brave."
I clenched my jaw, and she noticed.
"So?" She stopped a few inches in front of me. "Did you think you'd fly? Or were you hoping the ground would open its arms for you?"
My throat tightened. "I need to leave."
Zetheal laughed.
"You're not leaving," she said simply. "Not alive. Not whole nor sane."
She turned her head slightly, looking at the balcony again.
"You know," she mused, "if you're going to jump, at least give me the courtesy of watching." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'll take great pleasure in seeing you die from throwing yourself over."
My heart stopped.
For a moment, the world blurred. She sounded to blunt and mean for a lady. She wanted me dead? I doubt she did because she hated me. It could be just because she enjoyed the idea.
She could be as twisted as her brother.
"I do not care," I whispered. "My life is already over."
Zetheal's eyes brightened with wicked delight.
"Oh," she said softly. "Don't say things like that. You'll make my job too easy."
She stepped closer, invading my space. She lowered her voice until her breath brushed against my cheek.
"Your life isn't over," she whispered. "It's just no longer yours. I'll make sure of that. Right now, I'm your creator."
My knees weakened. My hands trembled again.
She reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture was gentle. Too gentle that it made bile rise in my throat.
"Is death an escape?" she murmured. "No, Nara. Death is a privilege, and privileges are earned. If you need death, you should earn it."
My eyes burned.
She smiled at my fear.
"Besides," she said, stepping back, "Valerius still needs you breathing. For now."
For now?
The two words punched the breath out of me. Where is my father?
Zetheal turned, glancing around the room before settling her gaze on the balcony again.
"You can try again later," she called over her shoulder. "I'll even bring popcorn."
She reached the door, paused, and looked back at me with a razor-edged smile. "Jump if you want," she said. "Just let me know when you would. Believe me, I'd hate to miss the show."
She left immediately.
I sank to the floor slowly, my legs no longer holding me. My breath came out in shallow bursts, trembling, and breaking.
I wrapped my arms around myself, rocking slightly.