Yuto spun away from the others and strode back our way. Instinctively, I swallowed and stepped back, half-tempted to run, even though I would get nowhere. “Come. I’ll show you to your chambers.”
“What, you don’t want to just pawn me off onto one of your servants?” I asked, half-hoping he would. At least with them, I didn’t have to worry about getting trapped against his chest again.
He grunted. “The others are not my servants.”
I waited for more, but he didn’t elaborate. With a brisk nod, he motioned toward a corridor that led away from the entryway. I fell into step beside him, our footsteps echoing off the slick stone walls. Yuto walked with his hands laced behind him, his shoulders thrown back.
As we passed several shut doors, I finally got up the courage to ask. “This isn’t some sort of trick, is it? You’re really not throwing me into the dungeons?”
“I have no wish to leave you to rot underground without access to fresh air and sunshine.”
“Last time I checked, I’m your prisoner.”
“I wish you no harm,” he said, slowing to a stop outside of a closed wooden door identical to all the others. “And I would rather you be comfortable during your stay here than the alternative.”
I pressed my lips together and swallowed down the question I desperately wanted to voice. Wasn’t he worried about me trying to escape? Didn’t he realize that I would scale the walls as soon as he left me alone in there? So far, he’d seemed smarter than the average male. But this brought that assumption into stark contrast with what I saw from him now.
Suddenly, he shifted so close to me that I could smell the blood on his tunic, still there from our fight against the monsters in the forest. He braced a hand on the wall, each arm on either side of my head. I swallowed hard as he leaned in close. His hot breath whispered across my skin.
“We’re here, Aradia,” he murmured with a sensual smile. “Would you like to see your bedroom?”
A shiver went down my spine. With a laugh, he pushed away from the wall and threw open the door. My heart beat out a harsh rhythm in my chest as he strode inside. What the hell hadthatbeen?
Annoying, that was what.
Squaring my shoulders, I followed him inside. I couldn’t let him get under my skin like this. That only meant he was winning in this strange battle of wills. I was so busy cursing him in my head that I didn’t notice anything about my surroundings until he pointed a long, gloved finger at the bed.
“Would you like to try out the bed before you commit to this room?”
Heat filled every inch of my face, and even my neck. I tried not to look at him. Instead, I focused my attention on the bed itself. Drowning in red silken sheets, it was a bed fit for a king and large enough to hold the both of us. Not that I was thinking about the two of us in that bed together. What a horrible thought. No, I just couldn’t help but notice the sheer size of the thing.
“If I say I don’t like it, will you put me in a different room?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Unlikely. Besides, this is one of the best in the entire castle, what’s left of it. Other than mine, of course.”
“Right, of course.” I rolled my eyes. Typical.
“You also have a fireplace and a sofa just there.” He turned toward the far corner. The sofa was also red with plush material that looked soft enough to sink into. My body suddenly ached, and my heart hurt. I was a very long way from home, and this was a grim reminder of everything I’d left behind. It reminded me far too much of my own living quarters. The sofa and the fire, and the nights I spent curled up reading a good book. Back when I had little to fear.
Before my father had stolen it all away from me.
Yuto edged closer, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Something is wrong. What is it, Aradia?”
My gaze turned north, toward his angular face. Concern was written in the set of his jaw. I opened my mouth and almost told him everything. But then I remembered where I was and who I was with and how I came to be here in the first place. He was not my friend. He was my enemy.
And I had to get away from him as soon as I could. I’d take a knife to his heart if that was what it took.
7
Aradia
Yuto had made a big mistake. He’d assumed one simple lock would keep me trapped inside this room. I grinned as I waited for his footsteps to fade into silence. As soon as he’d captured me, I’d braced myself for months stuck in this dreary hellscape before I got a chance to get away. I thought I’d have to formulate a meticulous plan, bide my time, and wait.
Instead, it was already time to break out.
I lifted my skirt and pulled out the small leather case I kept strapped to my upper thigh. Inside, I kept a small knife, a set of metal picks, and some twine. A gift from my father on my fourteenth birthday.
“You’re lucky to be a woman in this world,” he’d said. “No man can demand to search your skirts.”
