Dionne
The room had no windows.
Not a single opening to show the outside world or let me track time.
It was big, bigger than any room I'd ever slept in. The bed was impossibly soft, and a thick rug swallowed my footsteps. The walls were painted pale cream that should've felt welcoming.
But it felt exactly like every cage I'd ever known. My cramped room in the BloodMoon pack. The cell where I'd waited for execution. The back of that truck. It felt like all the same.
Heavy silence filled the space, pressing in from everywhere. The quiet stretched minutes into what felt like hours, maybe days. I kept hoping Silas or Violet would come back, just someone familiar.
There was one door. When I'd checked earlier, it wasn't locked and no guards stood outside. But they didn't need locks or guards, because where would I go? I wasn't stupid enough to try escaping the Lycan King's fortress.
Nora had fallen asleep almost immediately I tucked her into bed, curled into a ball in the center of the bed. And she had barely moved again, if not for the rise and fall of her chest, I would have been convinced that there was something wrong.
How long could she continue to sleep peacefully? How long before everything fell apart again?
A young woman brought our first meal, she pushed open the door without knocking and I jumped in shock at her sudden entry, because I didn't hear her coming down the hall.
She was thin and pale with haunted eyes and reddish hair. She set a tray on the nightstand and began offloading the plates. Roasted chicken, bread, some fruits, water.
Her movements were completely quiet. No wonder I hadn't heard her coming.
"Hello?" I called, my voice rough. "Can you tell me what's happening? What does the King want with us? How long do we have to stay in here?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes met mine for just a second, something unreadable there. Then she looked away and turned for the door with the tray tucked under her arm.
"No, wait. Please," I begged, reaching out to catch her wrist gently. "I just want to know how long we'll be here."
She yanked free with surprising strength. I was stunned. She looked so frail, but she pulled away easily.
She stared at me for a long moment. Whatever emptiness had been in her eyes was gone, replaced by anger. Then she turned and walked out without a word.
My breath caught as the door closed. Anger clawed at my ribs, and I almost screamed. My eyes burned, but I wiped the tears away before they could fall.
I went back to the bed and curled around Nora, throwing my arm over her as I listened to her breathe. The hope that someone would come was dying fast.
By the time the second meal came, Nora still hadn't woken. I tried to wake her, but she only mumbled and batted weakly at my hands. I got a few sips of water into her, but she wouldn't eat. Her face was pale and clammy.
I told myself she was just tired. The journey had been hell. We had been through a lot in this last week and she was just a baby. But as hours kept passing with her still sleeping, new fear took root.
I put my hand on her forehead and gasped. She was burning up.
Her cheeks were flushed red, and her breathing was starting to come in quick and shallow. I threw back the blankets with shaking hands. Her small body was slick with sweat, her shirt clinging to her skin.
"Nora?" I whispered, brushing her tangled hair back. "Nora, sweetheart, wake up."
She whimpered, a small sound that tore at my heart. Her eyes fluttered open but they were glassy and unfocused.
"Mommy," she breathed weakly. "It's so cold." She murmured, curling in on herself.
But she was on fire. I pulled the blankets back over her. She was sick and I had to find help now.
I ran to the door and started pounding my fists against it.
"Help! Please, someone help us! My daughter's sick!"
Only my own echo answered, bouncing off the walls. I screamed until my throat went raw. No guards came. No servants showed up. No one. The castle felt like a tomb.
Violet's warning echoed in my head. "Don't wander the halls. Don't leave this room." But my daughter's life was on the line. Nothing else mattered.
I gently lifted Nora and wrapped her in the blanket. She was terrifyingly light, her head lolling against my shoulder.
I pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway. It was as empty, but the silence out here felt more threatening.
Fear prickled across my skin, but Nora's burning body against mine kept me moving.
"Hello?" I called, my voice shaking. "Is anyone there? Please, I need a healer!"
My voice bounced off the paintings on the wall. I started walking down the hallway, hesitant at first, then faster. I tried doors as I passed, but they were all locked.
"Is anyone there? Please, my daughter needs help!"
When I got to the end of the hallway, I picked a direction and started moving faster, my bare feet silent on cold floor. Where was everyone? A castle this big shouldn't be this empty or quiet.
Then I heard it.
A distant crash, like a door slamming hard. Then a low, rough sound that might've been a voice, too far to make out.
Hope flared in my chest.
"Help!" I screamed, turning toward the sound. "Over here! Please!"
I ran down the corridor, balancing Nora in my arms. I burst outside and suddenly the rush of water from the fountain filled my ears. But I didn't stop. I kept moving until I rounded a corner.
Then a deep voice from the shadows stopped me cold.
"Trying to escape already? I'm disappointed. I thought you'd last longer."
My heart jumped into my throat. I turned slowly toward the voice, my arms tightening around Nora.
The man with the gray eyes stepped out from the shadows. He looked different.
The expensive suit from the auction house was gone, replaced with a simple shirt and pants, that were spattered with so much dried blood, I couldn't tell the original color of the shirt
But it was his face that made terror freeze the blood in my veins. Dark blood ran down from the corner of his mouth in a slow trickle. His eyes held that faint golden glow I remembered, like dying embers in the dark.
He looked exactly like the monster from every story I'd ever heard about the Mad King. The beast who drank blood and killed without mercy. The creature parents used to scare kids into behaving.
And I'd just walked straight into his path with my dying daughter in my arms.