My mother nodded before bursting into flames.
Light streamed through my windows as the morning sun crested over lavender mountains. I jumped out of bed like I’d been sleeping with spiders. My skin crawled as I accepted that I wasn’t in my own bedroom. It really wasn’t a dream—I was in another world.
I ran to the window and looked at my surroundings. I had a view of the gardens, the forest, and the mountains beyond. They werepurple—looking like bruised mighty giants, passed out after a fist fight.
The gardens were different from the structured, pruned ones I was used to. It appeared they were mostly functional, growing food and herbs. There were also wild flowers that flourished where spanning lawns should’ve been. Bumble bees and other pollinators bounced along a symphony of flora, working diligently. It comforted me to know that even in this strange place, I was surrounded by familiar sights.
Perhaps with the right perspective, this could be seen as the adventure of a lifetime. I’d been praying for something that would uproot me from my life,and here I was… so very far from home. A prisoner, yes, but I was already used to feeling caged.
Here, I was a nobody. They didn’t know that I was the heir to a throne, as far as I knew. I was oddly giddy from it—or maybe I was feeling giddy fromsomeonerather thansomething… But then I remembered the Queen and how much she seemed to hate humans, and I felt heavy and hopeless once more.
A knock at the door startled me. Two maids strolled in, weighed down by armfuls of clothing. “Good morning, Miss. Or… um, what should I call you?” A waif-like woman asked with a polite smile.
I smiled timidly. “Thea, my Lady’s Maid, calls me M’Lady. You can call me Marigold, if you’d like.”
Her forehead creased. “Lady? Miss, I don’t mean to be rude… but Her Grace mentioned you were a…human.” She whispered the last word, as if it was a shameful secret.
My eyes grew round as I realized my error. I should’ve assumed that humans in this world wouldn’t have status or titles. The Queen had made it clear that we were inferior to… to whatevertheywere.
“Oh, yes, of course. Marigold is fine,” I said with a tight smile.
The woman side-eyed me with curiosity, then smiled. “Lovely to meet you, Marigold. I’m Lusha. We’ve brought some dresses. It looks like most of them should fit with a few quick alterations. May I?” She had a brush in one hand and held up a dress in the other.
I ushered her forward, sitting down at the vanity, and Lusha began to work. The other woman, who hadn’t acknowledged me, busied herself by organizing my wardrobe.
Lusha whispered near my ear, “Don’t bother with Tildy. She’s as cold asBeira. It’s not personal. She did grow up with human friends, but working in the castle as long as she has… she’s forgotten how to talk to humans. I told her it’s no different than talking to anyone else.”
She caught my eye in the mirror and made a face, rolling her eyes, then gave me a warm grin. My shoulders relaxed. She was being kind when she didn’t have to be.
“You have beautiful hair,” Lusha said as she brushed it out. “It shines like liquid gold.”
“Thank you,” I said, glancing at her reflection. She had soft blue eyes and long, straight strawberry-blonde hair. It was pinned half back,showing off delicate, pointed ears. All the staff I’d seen so far had similar ears. Lusha was a whole head taller than me, which also seemed to be the norm—that and sharp, elongated canine teeth. Their fangs were beautiful, if not baleful.
I let out a shaky breath. I’d been treated well thus far. I was a guest. If they were going to hurt me, they already would have—at least that's what I was going to tell myself. And Galen didn’t seem to hate humans, even if his mother did.
Lusha plaited my hair out of my face, tying it back into the same style she was wearing. Tildy dressed me in a simple sage green gown that had been tailored for someone much taller than me, but I didn’t mind. It was still a vast improvement to my usual attire.
The dress wrapped around my curves, tied around my ribs, and draped down in light, silky layers. I could move so easily. The Wylks wouldn’t have stood a chance if I’d been wearingthis.
By the time I was ready, my stomach had twisted in on itself. I'd hoped Galen might come to my room and escort me down, but instead a dark-haired guard with a pallid complexion was sent. Robert, a man of few words and even fewer facial expressions. He frowned as I followed behind him, responding to my questions with one-word answers.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Fifty years,” he said gruffly.Fifty years?He didn’t even look fifty years old.
“Do you have a family?”
“None of your concern, Miss.”
“Have you ever escorted a human to breakfast before?”
He gave me an affronted look that silenced me.
Robert opened the double doors onto a veranda. There was an oversized pergola that offered shade above a large wooden table. Vines climbed along the beams and weaved through the lattice. Ripe bunches of purple grapes hung low and heavy.
If there were grapes, then there was wine… a blessing fromTerraherself. Would they water my wine here? Something told me no. Galentook me to my room unescorted last night—that led me to believe they were less rigid in this court. He could’ve left me compromised and my reputation destroyed,had our actions been observed in Aurelius.
It appeared that I was the only one concerned with keeping my virtue intact in this world. If last night had been a test, assessing my inherent propriety, then I'd undoubtedly failed with flying colors. Perhaps that’s why Thea always synched my corset so tight… I was less likely to become distracted by the opposite sex, if I was occupied with the task of simply trying tobreathe.
