One moment Jasce kissed me, the next, he brought me to this room and left me all alone. Alone to fear the shaking walls and the cries of war. Alone to wonder why I didn’t just tell him everything. Now, I’m stuck in this room with nothing but my thoughts and an ocean of regret. If I’m going to die, I should have experienced more things…
I lift my fingers to my mouth, touching the heat left behind by Jasce. Frustration grips me as I scrub my lips, hating how I responded to him, hating that even now I remember what his lips felt like.
“Damn!” I shout, needing my voice to be heard, needing the door to crash down and free me.
My hem snaps against my legs as I rise to my feet and pace the room. Thankfully, the window, perched high above my head, offers me enough light to see. I lift my hand, allowing the sun to shimmer off my skin and ease the tension.
Jasce left me all alone, but he doesn’t realize I am used to being alone.
He hasn’t taken my spirit from me.
It will keep me safe, and one day, it will return me to my family.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Days and nights shift together,becoming one. One voice. One echo. One beat in time.
I stay busy with several pieces of charcoal I found in the corner of the room. I use them to write on every inch of the walls—covering them in quotes and drawings.
The charcoal stains my hands and clothing, but I don’t mind. Writing my favorite passages gives me purpose.
I skim my fingers across my favorite.Impossible is a word used by those lacking a vivid imagination.
It’s true.
Other people might see my predicament as impossible to escape, but I don’t. Everything is possible if you believe hard enough.
The door swings open, and I pause, still clutching the charcoal. Jasce stands there wearing armor and a frown etched across his features.
I gape at him, that image I will never erase from my mind. Jasce in full armor. Jasce wearing that crimson surcoat.
“Are you my enemy?” he asks, his words piercing the space between us.
Yes.“No.”
His gaze roves over the room, taking in my writing.
“I hope you don’t mind that I wrote all over your walls,” I say nervously.
He steps inside the room as I lower the charcoal to the floor and rise to meet his stare. “Are you here to undermine me?”
“No.” I glance around the room. “I’m not very calculating. Grandfather says I’m like a little bird. Helpless.”
Jasce’s brow lifts. “Grandfather?”
I slip my hands into my sleeves and shift my weight from foot to foot.
“Who is your grandfather?”
Hakan…
The reality numbs my insides.
“No one. At least, nobody of note.” I wave my hand dismissively. “You wouldn’t know him.”
“Do you want social standing?” When I stare blankly at Jasce, he continues. “Coin? Jewels?”
My tangled strands lash my cheeks as I shake my head.
