“I hate you.”
“That’s irrelevant to me.”
“I know.” Her voice wavered. “But why? What makes you so special? Why does he choose you every night?”
“Only His Highness can answer that.”
Rosette shifted uneasily, her voice barely above a whisper. “Because of you, we’ve been entirely forgotten, not just by the prince, but by all of Hyrall.”
“None of us are acknowledged by Hyrall, Rosette.”
“No, Odessa,” she said, sitting straighter. “You don’t understand. Leya, Imogen, and I… we come from highborn families. We were ladies of the court, daughters with connections, with futures. Becoming royal courtesans was once considered a noble sacrifice. A duty. That was before you arrived.”
I listened in silence as she continued.
“Now we’re nothing more than ornamental pets, forced to live in your shadow. We’re meant to be quiet, beautiful, and obedient, but what use is that if we’re no longer permitted to serve?”
There was no nobility in the life I’d been forced into.
I shifted my stare to Rosette.
“You were aware of the expectations for a royal courtesan before you signed your contract, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” Rosette said through tight lips.
“And you agreed to them. You understood the terms, the constraints, the life you were choosing.”
“I did,” she admitted.
“Then it seems your problem isn’t with the contract. What you didn’t foresee, Rosette, was that a lowborn consort like me would rattle your ranks.” I dismissed her with a wave. “And frankly, I’ve no interest in your complaints.”
“You’re a spiteful bitch,” Imogen spat.
I turned to her. “Think what you like, Imogen.”
Imogen glared. “Go back to your books and keep hiding behind that reclusive act.”
“If that’s how you see it, it makes no difference to me,” I responded.
I closed the book in my lap and rose from my seat. It was a cruel whim of Gadriel’s to force the four of us into these “activities,” so he claimed, to keep us entertained. I would have much rather spent my time alone in the library.
Instead, I was trapped in this room twice a day with the others, condemned to useless tasks, needlework, dancing, flower-gathering, chess, whatever drudgery the court thought suitable for royal consorts and courtesans.
I miss the wild of the woods.
I miss Brier Len.
A sudden wave of longing swept over me, so fierce it stunned me. I often thought of my life before Hyrall, but never had the pull toward the forest felt so consuming. It only made my reality feel more suffocating. Even if I did escape, there’d be no sanctuary waiting for me. Gadriel would hunt me, and Brier Len would be the first place he’d look.
The other girls had no understanding of the world beyond thesecastle walls. But I did. I knew what I was after was out there, and I would give anything to reach it, no matter the cost.
“What’s wrong with you?” Imogen’s voice cut in sharply.
“Her mind’s finally rotted from the devil-blood inside her,” Rosette muttered.
Leya gave a quiet laugh, hiding it behind her open silk fan. “It’s only a matter of time before we find out what you’re hiding, Odessa. And when we do, you’ll wish you’d never stepped foot in this castle.”
Too late for that, I already do.
