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“This will do,” Rollo says, his deep eyes the stain of mud lingering at my exposed torso. His hand reaches for me, and I swat it away.

Olga gasps.

“Touch me again and I’ll—”

“What, my pet? Use your subpar sun magic to burn me? Make me squint because it gets a little too bright?”

“Fuck you.” My voice shakes.

“That will do, Olga. Finish any measurements by the ceremony next week.”

“Y-yes, my Lord,” she stammers. The moment she takes the garment off, I snatch my dress from the floor, pull it on, and storm for the door. Rollo does nothing to stop me.

“Hey!” Ragnar starts, but I stomp past him, fists clenched and blinking furiously.

Fuck the Jord Lord. Fuck this ceremony. Fuck this fucking entire level of the Underworld.

“Akemi! Wait!” Ragnar calls after me. “Akemi!” He grabs my arm gently and turns me around.

“WHAT, RAGNAR?” I scream. “ARE YOU HAPPY? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?”

He pales, adding softly, “Your room is this way.”

I scream to no one in particular and start down the other tunnel that looks the same as all the rest of the fucking halls in this stone maze of a palace.

My vision darkens around the edges, and I feel my fingers tingle. This is it. I’m going crazy. Good. I laugh and ignore the look Ragnar gives me.

My laugh echoes back, and we make the strangest song together that ricochets in dissonant tones, which makes me laugh even more as I throw myself onto the bed. I don’t pay attention when Ragnar shuts the door carefully, like I’m a weapon just waiting to explode.

Maybe I want to light the fuse myself.

The court is milling about the dining room, chatting in clusters, no doubt whispering about my outburst. They watch me, but their gazes slide right off my ramrod straight posture. Tonight, my hair is braided in a crown above my head. Little coils of curls fall loosely, tickling my neck as I walk toward the butler.

“Wine for you, my lady?” one of the staff asks, head bowed to show off his shiny bald spot.

“Please,” I say, voice surprisingly calm. I down it in four gulps and hand my glass back for a refill, ignoring his raised eyebrows. If I could manage using my Source magic with my voice during my Telling last night, I can do it again.

Moon God knows that I’m desperate enough to try it. I have eleven days left until this binding ceremony, and I’ll be damned if I don’t even try to escape.

I need to do something.

For the first time in a long time, I feel a certain sharpness return to my senses, like I was looking through a foggy glass, swimming through mud, and now I can see. Now I can feel. I scan the table; there has to be something I can use. Obviously there aren’t any throwing stars lying around in a territory known for their axes, but even if there is a small plate I could break. A knife, fork, anything I could throw.

I just need to take it without anyone noticing. I don’t have to act tonight—I just need some sort of weapon so I can practice with it. Utturt stands next to Lawrie, holding a small plate of hors d’oeuvres, and I see my opening. Just like the heroes of old, I go undercover, on a stealth mission to retrieve the stolen relic, the magical heirloom—okay fine, in my case, it’s a plate, but the end product will be a formidable weapon.

My slippers are quiet on the cold stone floor as I approach. At the last moment, I turn and bump into Uttert. The plate scatters across the floor, broken into shards.

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry,” I pitch my voice up, adding a softness around the edges of my words. The perfect damsel in distress, bending down to slide a shard into my corset belt. The room bursts into clamor.

“Unbelievably clumsy.”

“That is the future lady. Her! Can you believe it?”

“You little bit—” Uttert starts.

“Enough.” The Jord Lord’s voice rings commanding and firm from the doorway where he currently stands. Arriving late, hair disheveled. Now having seen the company he keeps in his bedroom, his tossed hair makes more and more sense.

I feign a look of innocence, and Rollo seems to accept it. That, or he is now starting to “protect me” as his future lady. I’m going to assume it is the former for now.