"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
She swallowed her pride. "Yes, my lord."
"Better." He moved past her toward the path Thaine had taken, then paused. "Oh, and little thief? If you're going to make friends with the servants, be more careful. Next time I might not be so... understanding."
Then he was gone, leaving her alone with the memory blooms and the weight of his words.
She stayed pressed against the wall until her heartbeat slowed, trying to process what had just happened. The way he'd looked at her. The way he'd almost—
No. She couldn't think about that. Couldn't analyze why her lips still tingled with phantom heat or why that warmth in her chest felt like disappointment at the interruption.
She had bigger concerns. Tomorrow's dinner. Seraphin's safety. The growing certainty that Eliam's interest in her went beyond simple ownership.
And underneath it all, the question he'd left her with.
Why hadn't she fought the kiss?
She was afraid she was beginning to know the answer.
And that terrified her more than any threat he'd made.
Briar's legs wobbled as she climbed the stairs to her room. The memory of his breath against her ear, the words he'd almost said, made her stomach twist with something that wasn't quite fear.
What was wrong with her?
She closed the door and leaned against it, pressing her palms to her burning cheeks. He'd been about to tell her why she hadn't fought the kiss. Had been close enough that she'd felt the warmth radiating from his body despite his inherent coldness. And she'dwanted—
No. She couldn't think about what she'd wanted.
She pushed away from the door and paced to the window. The garden below looked peaceful in the fading light, no sign of the charged encounter that had just taken place. As if she'd imagined the whole thing.
But she could still feel where his hand had caged her against the wall. Still hear his voice saying her anger existed because he allowed it.
"Stop it," she told herself firmly.
She needed to focus on tomorrow's dinner. On survival. Not on the way her traitorous body had leaned toward him in those final moments before Thaine's interruption.
She moved to the desk, determined to study, to prepare, to do something other than replay every word, every touch. The books sat in their usual stack, but something was off. The top volume,Proper Forms of Address Among the Courts, had been knocked over, leaning against the others at an angle.
Strange. She was always careful with the books, knowing Eliam would find any excuse to punish her.
She reached to straighten it and froze.
Beneath the tilted book, almost hidden in the shadow, lay something impossible.
The bracelet.
Her hands trembled as she picked it up. Cheap plastic beads in garish colors—hot pink, lime green, electric blue. Allegra's bracelet. The one Eliam had stripped from her that first night.
It was warm, as if someone had been holding it.
Only a handful of people entered her room. The servant who cleaned. The one who brought meals. Seraphin.
Seraphin, who'd warned her about the memory blooms. Who'd accepted her help with the planter. Who'd looked at her with such confusion when Briar had thanked her for simple kindness.
Tears blurred her vision as she clutched the bracelet to her chest. Such a small thing. Such a stupid, ugly, precious thing. But it was Allegra's. It was home. It was proof that somewhere in this nightmare castle, someone had risked everything to return a piece of her life.
