Page 33 of The Tower

“Right. Sleep.” I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or relieved. “Goodnight, Grimm.”

“Liam,” he says firmly, but I just shrug, then turn and head for the door.

“Good night, Princess. We’ll talk in the morning.”

I slip into the hallway, my body burning in places it shouldn’t as I think about his voice, his eyes, and that small smile that always seems to promise things I really shouldn’t want.

Get a grip, girl!

In my room, I drop the robe, then slide naked between the cool sheets, my body humming. I close my eyes and see him again—the fluid grace of his movements, the controlled power in every muscle, the way his sweats hang so low I can see the sharp cut of his hip bones.

I hate him. I want him. I hate that I want him.

I slide my hand down my bare stomach, lower and lower—then yank it firmly away. That’s not what I want. Not my own touch, familiar and flat.

And yet … well, there are other ways to escape.

I roll over and grab the laptop from where I left it on the bedside table.

I lift the lid, then type in the URL for Elysium.

Nine

Elysium

I navigate Elysium’s simple landing page to the corner where I’ve hidden the secure portal that lets me log in even away from my computer at Reed Tower. All I have to do is ride Grimm’s WiFi like a giant waterslide all the way to the secure servers that provide the boundaries of my digital haven.

I hold my breath, expecting firewalls, digital barriers, something to jump in the way and keep me from my goal. But to my surprise and relief, Elysium’s elaborate silver gates appear, along with the familiar message requiring “the magic word” to enter.

I type in the complex password—a combination of letters and numbers which, if properly decoded, spell out the message Welcome to Freedom.

I bite my lower lip, still not believing it could be so easy. But sure enough, the loading sequence begins, unfurling a swirling pattern of stars that coalesce into verdant landscapes beyond the gate with the central castle rising like a dream from digital mist.

Relief washes through me, so intense it brings tears to my eyes. My father may control my body. Grimm may control my circumstances. But here in Elysium, no one controls me but me.

The moment the virtual world finishes forming, the gates swing open, and I’m swept inside, the world now appearing from my—well, Vale’s—point of view.

“Welcome, Vale.” The system’s voice is tinny through the laptop’s tiny speaker, and I ache for my bodysuit and headset back at Reed Tower. I miss the way the sensors trace my skin, translating every touch, every kiss, every stroke into electric pulses that fool my body into thinking they’re real.

With something like hunger filling me, I navigate through my territories—the Crystal Garden, the Floating Islands, the Mountain Sanctuary—each one a testament to countless hours I spent coding, creating, escaping. But none is my destination tonight.

On impulse, I summon Ember, one of my dragons. Her scales ripple between crimson and obsidian as she lands beside me, extending a wing to assist me onto her back. Soon we’re soaring above the digital realm, Vale’s shoulder-length hair streaming behind us.

As the tension eases from my real-world shoulders, I guide Ember toward a secluded lake nestled between snow-capped mountains—our most intimate sanctuary, where my prince awaits me.

The first time he came to me here, he’d stayed in the shadows, watching as I bathed in the moonlit lake.

Night after night, he’d crept closer, until the weight of his gaze felt as potent as a touch. Eventually, he reached out a hand, and when I folded my fingers around his, he pulled me to him. He became my secret, my solace, my forbidden dream.

In his arms, I found a world where I wasn’t caged. Where I wasn’t Victor Reed’s daughter, or anyone’s pawn.

We passed countless hours tangled together, talking of nothing and everything⁠—

The dragons of Elysium.

My loneliness in the castle.

My hatred for my father.