“No. I have someone for you to meet,” Sebastian says. He leans against the doorframe. “I think you’ll like her.”
“I highly doubt that,” I say. I shove back on the bed, until I’m as far as I physically can be. If there was anything other than a sheet on this bed, I’d wrap it around myself like a pathetic shield.
“It’s time to go,” he says again. He beckons me with his hand but remains outside the door. “Come.”
I grind my teeth together, not moving for a prolonged moment. I know it’s useless to defy him. He can easily overpower me, and I’m sure he’s got a whole slew of those vials somewhere on his person. He’s shed the long coat from earlier and now wears black slacks and a buttoned shirt with the sleeves cuffed.
“Grace—”
“It’s cold in here,” I say as I shove to my feet. “Since yousupposedlyneedme, you should turn up the heat. Otherwise I’m going to die of hypothermia.”
I stop a foot short, lifting my chin to glare at him. He’s only a couple inches taller than I am, but there’s something undeniably frightening about his appearance. It’s the curl of his lip, I decide. The subtle turn of his mouth that promises violence without care.
Sebastian steps back, into the dimly lit hallway. He sweeps his hand in a wide gesture, signaling for me to walk in front of him. I keep my chin tilted as I walk, striding past elaborate paintings, drape-covered windows, and the occasional stone bust. It feels like we’re on a movie set, designed to look like an ancient European castle.
There are no lights. No signs of electricity. Small candles hang on the wall, spaced evenly and ineffectively dim. Does this place not have modern technology? Are theyreallyrelying on freaking wax candles to see?
The odds of getting heat in my room vanish the farther I walk.
Maybe the door we stepped through brought us, not to another place, but to another time.
I reach a split in the hallway and pause.
“Left,” he says.
I glance back at him, surprised at his distance. It’s unsettling in a way I can’t explain. I certainly don’twanthim standing against me, hand on my neck to keep me obedient. And yet, it seems like heshouldbe.
I glance down the right branch. It’s lined with doors and as eerily empty as everywhere else in this place. I turn left. This hallway is empty too, but the doors are packed more tightly together. Some are blank, but most feature a metal sign, branded with one old-fashioned name or another.Tomas. Cecilia. Adelaide. Rasmus.
We continue on like this. Sebastian only speaks to give directions, and I remain silent. I keep mental tabs as we go, searching desperately for doors that lead outside. None ever appear, and eventually, we arrive at the end of a hallway identical to all the others. Only now, there’s nowhere to go. I study the gold plate on the door.
“Cora?” I ask, turning toward Sebastian.
“Our resident witch.”
I lift an eyebrow, but before I can ask any questions, Sebastian knocks. The door opens immediately. A woman with a tight black ponytail and large features stares at me. Her attention is different from Sebastian’s. It’s less hostile, less desperate. She’s looking at me as if I am somehow both friend and foe.
“Grace Pruce,” she says eventually.
“Renolds,” I correct. Because after I turned eighteen, I changed my surname to match my mother’s. I believed Walter Pruce had abandoned us, despite my mother’s claims, and I didn’t want a tie to the man who didn’t want me. Now, I feel a flicker of guilt. Maybe, if I ever get out of this hellish place, I’ll hyphenate.
“Pruce,” she says again. She tilts her head, eyes sharpening. “Your father never spoke of you.”
“How nice,” I say flatly.
“For the best,” she says. She has one hand on either side of the doorframe, as if barricading us from entering. “You would’ve been slaughtered years ago if the coven knew.”
I don’t know what that means, so I don’t respond. I should point out that, despite my father’s supposed protection, I’ve still ended up here. Held captive for a reason I don’t understand. If I can’t find a way out of here, I have no doubt they’ll slaughter me eventually.
“She’s weak,” Cora says. For the first time, she looks at Sebastian. “I’m surprised.”
“Half-human then?” Sebastian asks. He stands to my right, a step behind me.
“Most likely,” she says, nodding. “Hopefully it’s enough.”
“It will have to be,” Sebastian says. He steps closer, shoulder brushing mine. I instantly shift to the left, breaking contact. If he notices, he doesn’t comment. He only stares at Cora. “It has to be enough, Cora. Understand?”
“Yes, Master,” she says. Her throat bobs, the first indication she’s unsettled by the man behind me.
