Bending over so that his lips are close to my ear, he whispers, “If you try to escape, you’ll never make it off the property.” He presses a chaste kiss on my forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
My eyes sting with unshed tears as he strolls to the door and turns off the lights, plunging me back into darkness. I hear the lock turn, and I fight against the claustrophobia clawing behind my chest. Rolling to my side, I bring my knees up to my chest, squeezing my eyes tightly shut.
Why did I ever come to Pravitia?
10
VEIL
Ihear the key turn in the lock before my mind is fully conscious. My body, on the other hand, instantly propels me out of sleep and into a state of high alert. I scramble to sit up in bed before Gemini opens the door.
The first thing I notice when he pokes his head inside is that his blond hair is now dyed pink.
“Oh good!” he declares, his tone bright and chipper. “You’re awake.”
I have the reflex to contradict him and tell him I was sleeping, but decide against it, choosing pointed silence instead.
He takes one large step inside and sweeps his appraising gaze around the room. He’s dressed in a tweed vest, his chest bare underneath, and matching trousers. A white measuring tape, draped around his neck, hangs loosely over the vest.
It appears he’s surveying the room, as if making sure everything is to his liking—as in no signs of a failed escape, I’m sure.
I didn’t bother checking if the windows were locked when he left last night.
And if they weren’t? Where would I go? Where would I hide?
The city is his. I don’t belong here, and yet I can’t leave. Maybe he’s right, and I should accept my fate.
Destined to become Gemini Foley’s plaything.
My free will clasped tightly in the palm of his hand.
“We are having breakfast on the terrace,” he declares, his hands giving two short claps, shoulders and neck straightening. He flashes me an impatient look, followed by a dazzling smile. “Come, come. Time to get dressed. The morning birds are singing a new song.”
His words from last night drift back like an ominous whisper.
“Tomorrow, I’ll show you to your new wardrobe.”
His turn of phrase and the way he’s waiting for me to follow him makes me think that wherever this new wardrobe is, it’s not in this room.
I cautiously climb out of bed, my gaze serious and suspicious, the scent of him still faintly clinging to the clothes he had me wear last night.
“Can I?—”
“Wash up first? Yes, yes,” he answers abruptly with a curt nod, flicking his hand toward the small en suite connected to the guest room. “Go on now, quickly.”
The impatience in his tone and body language has me scurrying into the bathroom, splashing some water onto my face and freshening up as fast as I can before returning to the bedroom, my hair now twisted into a high bun.
His smile is beatific, per usual, as he takes my hand. The metal of his rings is warm on my cold skin, and his fingers are slender, his skin as soft as a newborn—further proof that he’s never had to work a real day in his life. Walking out of the hallway, I’m struck by the view welcoming me beyond the living room windows.
The sun is low on the horizon. It must be early morning with the way the rays shine over the Pravitian skyline. From this vantage point, with the harbor between us, it’s … it’s beautiful.
I’ve never seen the city of Pravitia like this before.
A bizarre sense of shame smothers the feeling when I consider how mistreated I’ve felt by the city since I arrived. Perversity, cloaked in beauty. It strangely reminds me of the one whose hand is currently squeezing mine as we pass the living room and head into another vast hallway.
“Here we are,” he announces after passing a handful of closed doors. Letting go of my hand, he fishes out a key hanging on a thin leather string from inside his vest.
His eyes glimmer with excitement as he unlocks the door, and my curiosity gets the better of me. Anticipation begins to tickle my stomach as I wonder what kind of wardrobe is waiting for me behind the closed door.
