Lost in my thoughts, it took me a moment to recognize my name being called…
“Asteria Zagreus, will be assigned to the palace under Crown Prince Cyrus.”
No.
If I thought my blood had turned to ice before, it had nothing at this moment. My whole body felt frozen, ready to be smashed and broken into a thousand pieces.
I can’t have heard that right. Instead of relaxing like Emmie, my body was overtaken by pure anxiety, my muscles alltightening as I visibly tensed. This couldn’t be happening.Prince Cyrus.I knew with certainty now that all the times I caught him staring at me had everything to do with me ending up in Dusk—and withhim. Especially when they could pick and choose which slaves they wanted. For the sake of my own sanity, I forced the connecting dots to the back of my mind. I was being watched, and if I wasn’t careful, my clean record of not being whipped would be broken.
Still, I couldn’t help the panic at the thought that Prince Cyrus would now have complete control of me. What did he want with me? Why single me out? And what was I to do in a palace? I knew nothing about city life, let alone court!
I risked looking up briefly and knew from the instinctive dread that flooded my system that Prince Cyrus was already staring at me again. As the rest of the humans stood up, I watched them make their own ways to their new masters.
I gulped, taking a step toward the prince. This male now owned and controlled me entirely, and I honestly couldn’t think of anything worse.
“Hello, pretty little human.” Prince Cyrus practically purred at me. I nearly bit through my tongue, keeping it leashed. My father was right, I needed to control my anger. I had no idea what this Fae would do to me if I snapped at him. Or rather, Ididknow the possibilities and they all terrified me.
“Follow me.” Prince Cyrus turned on his heels and sauntered away. Every bit of him dripped with arrogance and privilege. I sneered at his back, at his assumption that every woman in this room wanted him, and that he could have whomever he wanted. Judging by the giggling and the staring from the females surrounding us before we’d left the throne room, his arrogance, unfortunately, wasn’t totally unfounded.
Confidence in a man is sexy, I’m pretty sure any living female would agree—but this wasn’t confidence. It was pure, gross arrogance, and that was a different thing entirely.
I followed the prince through the winding halls, passing more ludicrously ostentatious decor as we went, and trying not to roll my eyes at it or sneer outright. When we finally reached the East Wing, the prince turned and began climbing up a giant staircase. I dutifully followed along behind him, my footsteps near silent on the plush violet rug laid over the black marble. I wondered if he still heard them. I supposed he could also smell my scent as I followed him. Fae senses were known to be incredible, and I could only imagine all the ways those acute senses supplied him with information I couldn’t even conceive.
We reached a hall at the top of the steps and turned right. I wondered if he was taking me to my new quarters, or possibly straight to whatever my new tasks were. Would I be cleaning up after him? What did princes even do that he might need me for?
It felt like this place went on forever. I was starting to feel like a very, very small ant—one about to be stepped on.
I couldn’t stop staring at Prince Cyrus from where I followed behind him. He’d stared at me long enough, so it was only fair. Not that the Fae cared about fairness. I’d wager crown princes cared even less.
His body was sculpted, but he was slimmer than I expected. Not overly muscular, but he was certainly in excellent shape, like all Fae seemed to inherently be. It was obvious that he lived a life of leisure and didn’t spend all his time training like some. I hated noticing his attractiveness at all.
I nearly snorted, catching myself at the last moment. Fae were beautiful, it was pointless trying to argue the point in my own head. Finding one pretty wasn’t the end of the world. Almost like he could sense the tenor of my thoughts, his head turned to me, and his sharp blue eyes crackled with lightning as theystared through me. He stopped moving abruptly and wrenched the double doors he’d stopped beside open.
Inside was…it wasa lot.
“This is my solar.” The prince’s arm swung wide to indicate the space before me. It was huge, both long and wide, and it encompassed several different areas meant for various functions. The walls were the black marble of the palace, but managed to look open and bright with the large windows stretching across the wall that let the sun in. A huge fireplace was accompanied by two long forest green velvet sofas and a pair of wingback velvet chairs in black to go with them. Bookcases lined the walls in several spots, paired with paintings beside them. The far side of the room had another set of huge windows with heavy eggplant-colored drapes bordering them.
There was a dining area to the left, with a giant mahogany table and chairs set around it. It was already prepared with plates and glasses for ten. To the right was an office space of sorts, with a large desk in black wood dominating that area and cabinets surrounding it on both sides.
My house in Sunrise would fill this space several times over and there’d probably still be room left to fill. I shoved down the sharp pang of loss I felt at the comparison. I couldn’t afford to think of my parents or my old home—my oldlife. Not now. It may not have been what I wanted, but it was…familiar, if not safe.
“My chambers are to the right over there—” The prince pointed across the vast expanse of space that made up his rooms to another set of double doors at the far end.
“Usually, our slaves all sleep in their own quarters in a shared space downstairs, but—” He looked me up and down, then walked over to another door—to the left and opposite the expansive room from where his sleeping quarters were.
The prince opened the door and waved me in. I stepped through timidly, unsure of what I would find on the other side. I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t putting me with the other slaves. The very thought of staying in his quarters filled my stomach with a bubbly anxious feeling.
Itwasanother sleeping quarter. The room itself was ginormous, of course, like everything here seemed to be. I could only imagine the size of his rooms if this was a spare. A large four-poster bed caught the attention of anyone entering the room. The wood was light gray, and admittedly very pretty, with scrollwork and a wide variety of details making it look regal. The walls had a floral damask wallpaper in gray and cream but was covered over in several spots with huge tapestries, showing scenes of—Old Gods. I blushed scarlet immediately. I wasn’t a prude by any means. I liked sex—lovedit even. But the scenes on these tapestries depicting Fae orgies were like nothing I’d ever seen before.
I forced my eyes to the floor. I noticed then the plush cream-colored carpets—that had to be awful for whatever slave was forced to clean it. My eyes shot around the rest of the room, taking in the various furniture. A seating area was set by the large fireplace with two long, light purple silk sofas facing one another on either side of it. A low table was set between them with tea service sitting out on it. The vanity seemed to be the next most ostentatious piece in the room; set with all sorts of bits and bobs I didn’t recognize. The room was clearly meant for a woman, making my nerves rattle as I thought of why that was, and why I’d been brought here.
One thing I was quickly coming to realize was that Dusk Kingdom preferred its luxuries. Everything here was dripping in wealth. It was so incongruous with what I’d known my entire life, I felt like I was dreaming. I must be. No one hadthismuch.Right?
“This will be your room.” The prince drawled in an almost lazy tone, but my head whipped over, giving him a wide-eyed stare. I’d put that together already in the back of my mind, but the confirmation made me want to puke. I quickly put my hands behind my back and fisted them in my skirts, a mix of fear and anger that I could only express in one mild way.
His lips tipped up and his eyes seemed to brighten as he leaned against the doorframe. “Are you going to silently stare the whole time? Or do you plan to speak anytime soon?”
Fury spiked at his amusement. I had no idea how to behave around royalty. A fact he must know very well. My jaw worked as I considered my answer.
