Thenextafternoon,Irealized the moment I stepped into Papa’s study that he already knew about my little escape. The neat, expensively furnished room felt smaller than usual. Colder.
My siblings were lined up along the far side. Aurora was rigid, Matteo staring at the floor, and Sienna was clutching the edge of her dress like she could disappear into it.
Papa himself stood behind his desk, perfectly still. That was always worse than when he was visibly angry. It felt calculated. Just like that snake, getting ready to bite.
“Close the door,” Papa said.
I did. The click echoed louder than it should have. My ankle throbbed as I stepped forward, still bandaged, still weak. But I kept my chin up. I wouldn’t limp in front of him.
“You left your room last night during the dance,” he said. Not a question.
“Yes.”
His gaze sharpened. “You made your siblings lie for you.”
“Yes.”
Aurora shifted beside me, a subtle movement, like she wanted to speak, but didn’t dare. Papa walked around the desk slowly, each step measured. Controlled.
“Do you understand what you risked?” he demanded.
“I do,” I said.
“Do you?” His voice dropped, quiet enough to make my stomach twist. “You walked into a room full of men who would have taken one look at you and decided you belonged to them.”
My fingers curled at my sides. I said nothing.
His eyes narrowed. “And yet you came back untouched… Apart from a snake bite. Making us all worry. Making us rush in a doctor to treat you.”
He was right, and I was embarrassed. Papa was pulled away from the dance, and told about the bite last night. He was angry when the doctor came. Not because he was worried about my health, but because I’d disobeyed him.
“Who found you after the snake bit you?” Papa asked.
My pulse spiked. I kept my gaze steady. “A maid.”
He studied me. Waiting. Digging. I felt it, his suspicion pressing against my ribs, searching for cracks. But all I could hear was that voice in the dark. The mysterious, masked stranger who’d sucked the venom out of my bloodstream… who had my blood running down the corner of his mouth. My skin erupted in goosebumps when I remembered what he’d said.
Our little secret.
“A maid?” Papa repeated.
“Yes, Papa.”
His jaw tightened. He didn’t believe me. His hand moved so fast I barely saw it. The crack of his slap split the room in half.
My head snapped to the side, pain blooming across my cheek as the force of it knocked me off balance. I caught myself before I fell, my vision blurring for a second.
Sienna gasped.
“Donotlie to me,” Papa said. I tasted blood, wiping it off my face before turning to face him again. He’d hit me before, and he’d hit me again.
“I’m not,” I said quietly.
Papa took another step closer. He loomed over me now.
“Then tell me why no one told me what was happening,” he hissed. “Not even one of your own siblings. I taught you better than that, didn’t I?”
I swallowed uncomfortably. He was trying to get them all in trouble again, and it was all my fault.
