Maddox scowled. “Admit it. Admit you’re taking advantage of Father and Mother’s kindness and turning them against me. Admit you’re poisoning their minds with your magic.”
I barked a laugh, the mirthless sound achingly loud in the empty hallway. “You know nothing of magic. And yet you are half-witch yourself.”
Maddox clenched his jaw.
Father revealed to the court last summer that he was indeed a witch, but that he had removed his and Maddox’s magic decades ago with a potion. Both Maddox and Lady Vanessa were in shock, though the latter had taken the news more gracefully than her son.
“You’re turning them against me,” Maddox repeated.
“That is your own doing. You heard them. You’re spoiled and immature.”
“That’s rich, coming from Father’sfavorite,” Maddox spat. “I never had a second of his day when you were born. But you don’t even bother holding a conversation with him. So why are you here, if not to leech off of us as you scheme with your mother?”
A flood of frustration washed over me. He was impossible. Everything about this was impossible.
“Just...” My eyes stung, and I channeled all the venom I had left. “Just leave me alone!”
I fled to my room, hardly caring that the gravy from my plate had dripped onto my skirts. A sob threatened to burst from my throat as I shut the door and sank to the cold floor.
What was dinner?Misty slunk over from the bed and sniffed the gravy stain on my gown. I swallowed my tears. She meowed in delight, tail curling when she spotted the plate of half-eaten chicken on the floor.
Despite my efforts to appear composed, I trembled.
Misty looked up.That brute of a brother bothering you again?
I wiped my eyes dry. Mother said there was nothing more humiliating than crying in earnest. Tears were a waste if not used to manipulate.
“I don’t know why I bother speaking to him,” I said. “Or to anyone.”
Misty gnawed at the meat.Then don’t. Take your meals in here again.
“Father will worry.”
She lapped a puddle of gravy off the plate.Your father seems harder to please than your mother. I don’t recall you being in such a state before this.
I hugged my knees to my chest. Misty was right. I knew exactly what Mother expected of me. I knew how to win her approval. Father was a different matter. A part of me craved to have that certainty again.
If you decide to run off and free her, I certainly have no objections. Whatever will make you happy.
I jumped, forgetting that Misty could read my thoughts as well as I could read hers if she pleased. Our bond was strong enough to go both ways, though I had gotten used to speaking with her out loud—something I wouldn’t have dared to do before.
I shook my head. “You know I’ve made my decision.”
Misty blinked slowly.You humans and your morals. If all that mattered was good food, life would be a great deal easier.
I sighed. Misty was the most human-like animal I’ve connected with, but even then her feline instincts prevailed.
She yawned.It’s getting late. I think I’ll take another stroll around the gardens before I sleep.
“Leave the chickadee alone,” I said as Misty sauntered over to our open window.
She bristled.I know.She leaped over the windowsill and disappeared into the bushes below.
I sank into my four-poster bed and buried my face into the pillows. I didn’t bother to ring for my maid. The girl was terrified of me, anyway.
