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“You already have, Odette. Go and enact that shroud of protection right away. I don’t care how long it takes. By the time I get upstairs, I expect my child and Maren to be fully armored against any dangers.”
She lowered her eyes submissively. “Yes, Alpha.”
I barely acknowledged when she vanished, a smidgen of guilt passing through me as I called the head Royal Guard into my office.
She did this to herself. I warned her what would happen.
“Yes, Alpha?” the head guard asked.
“Have housekeeping remove all of Odette’s belongings from her room and into the smallest servant’s bedroom we have in the west wing. She is always to have a guard on her while she is on the premises.”
“Odette?” the guard asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Immediately, he lowered it, catching my expression. “Yes, of course, Alpha. At once.”
He hurried off to oblige my directions, leaving me to settle back and consider what I’d done.
Either she’d fall in line, or she wouldn’t. No matter what, once this threat against Maren was confined, I was going to ensure that there was a massive overhaul of staff in this castle…
And in months, when I had full power, I would clean house with the Council of Ministers, too.
Chapter 9
Maren
My mood returned to normal within a few days, as I’d always suspected it would once I went back to work. The walls of the castle no longer felt as though they were closing in around me, now that I was getting regular face-to-face contact with Tristiana and the other dancers.
I fell into a routine similar to the one I’d had when I’d lived alone, and it invigorated me. Coupled with the fact that I now had a purpose, a reason to get up and go in the morning, I felt more alive. And at the end of every day, I couldn’t wait to tell Nyx about it, like today, as I waited impatiently in the dining room for him to join me for dinner.
“Miss Maren.”
My head jerked toward the entrance of the grand space, my good mood dissipating as I rested my gaze on Odette. This was the first time I’d seen her since returning to the castle, almost a month earlier, and I’d almost managed to forget about her.
I should have known things were going too well.
“Odette…” I replied cautiously, suddenly realizing she’d called out to me formally. The understanding only put me more on guard.
“Could we talk for a minute?” she asked, her hands folded demurely in front of her.
A guard stood closely behind her, as if keeping watch over her, and my brow shot up curiously.
“Sure?” I replied uncertainly. “Go ahead.”
“I think we need to speak in a more secure setting,” she said, still not moving from her spot, and I tensed.
“Whatever you have to say—” I started to tell her, but the flash of a message on my phone caught my eye. It was from Nyx. “Hang on a second.”
Nyx:If Odette comes to you, do what she says, please? It’s all above board. I promise. xo
Apprehension shot through me, and I stood, dropping my napkin on my untouched dinner plate.
“Has something happened?” I asked in alarm. “Where’s Nyx?”
“He’s in his study, working,” she reassured me quickly, her tone much softer than I’d ever heard it. “But he has asked me to perform a ritual on you, which is best done privately.”
Flabbergasted, I stared at the message again and back at Odette, but she made no move to come closer, and I found myself losing my suspicion of her.
“Please, Miss Maren. Will you come with me?”
Swallowing my nervousness, I silently assented and followed the flame-haired enchantress toward the west wing of the castle.
