Joana patted Maxi on the arm as though she were reassuring a child, then left the room once more. Unclenching her fist, Maxi stared at the coin that now glistened with cold sweat.
Knowing that Riftan was here made her heart flutter. Maxi bit her lip. Had she not followed her father here because she had been too scared to face Riftan? Even so, she was overcome with the desire to see him.
Shoving the coin into her pocket, Maxi peeked through the drawn curtains. She might be able to see him at a distance if she went somewhere higher. After a moment of hesitation, she clenched her jaw and pulled on her robe once more. She wanted to confirm with her own eyes that Riftan had returned unharmed.
Maxi surveyed the corridor for a long time through a gap in the door. When she was certain that no one was around, she quietly slipped out of her room. No one must have suspected that she would try to sneak out, as the back door the servants used to visit the latrine was unguarded. Maxi quickened her pace.
She stepped outside into a forest of auburn hazel trees. Concealing herself behind the trunks, Maxi circled the annex toward the main castle.
The long period of bed rest had left her weak, and the brief sprint through the forest was enough to send her head reeling and legs shaking. After catching her breath behind the bushes, she snuck into the castle.
As luck would have it, no one spotted her. Maxi’s eyes darted around as she leaped up the steps of the narrow staircase two at a time. She felt faint by the time she reached the fifth floor. Panting like a dog in the scorching sun, Maxi barely managed to make it up one more flight.
The sixth-floor landing opened onto a wide, arched terrace overlooking the entire estate. Maxi teetered over to the battlement and saw the House of Croyso banner flyingatop the roof of the castle’s tower. Beyond the thick castle walls, the Remdragon Knights were camped in front of the gates.
Even though they were too far away for Maxi to make out their faces, she spotted Riftan right away. He sat astride his horse, Talon.
As she watched the wind tousle his black hair, she thought her heart might burst from her chest. All of the complicated emotions raging inside her instantly melded into one: the desire to see him up close. Even if he no longer wanted her, she thought she could endure it if she could just have his arms around her one last time.
The irresistible urge took over, and Maxi spun on her heels. She was about to race down the stairs when someone grabbed her arm.
Maxi shrieked. One of her father’s personal knights looked down at her with a frightening expression.
“The duke wishes you to remain in your chambers,” he said darkly. “Did no one convey that to you?”
Maxi squirmed. “P-Please unhand me.”
Ignoring her request, the knight briskly led her down the stairs. “His Grace was furious when he found out that you were not in your room,” he said irritably as he dragged her along.
Maxi gasped in terror when the knight turned down the corridor on the fourth floor. Her whole body shook with fear.
“I-I…only w-wanted to see him from afar! I-I will return to my ch-chambers now!” she cried. “Please…t-turn a blind eye j-just this once.”
“The duke commanded that you be brought here. I ambound to obey his orders,” the knight said coldly as he kept up his brisk pace.
Maxi struggled to free her arm from his grasp, but it was simply impossible to fight back against the strength of a seasoned knight. Before she knew it, he was dragging her into the room at the end of the corridor.
Terrified, Maxi whirled left and right. Her stomach churned as she took in the mirror, the chair, and the array of riding crops on the wall. She clung to the knight’s arm, stopping him from leaving.
“I p-promise…to n-never leave the annex again! I-I swear!” she begged. “P-Please let me out.”
The knight sighed and gently pried her hands off. “You should not have disobeyed your father’s orders from the start. Why would you do such a thing knowing full well how strict His Grace is?”
The knight apathetically turned around and left the room. When she heard the lock turn, overwhelming fear sent her into a frantic attempt to open it. No matter how hard she rattled the door, it refused to budge. Her legs began to tremble.
With a look of sheer terror, Maxi sagged to the floor. Her reflection in the mirror seemed to jeer at her, asking if she really had not suspected that this would happen. What had driven her to willingly return to this hell? Was being discarded by Riftan such a terrifying fate? Had she truly believed that he was worse than her father?
Maxi hugged her knees. Even if that were the case, she should have run away to somewhere else entirely instead of coming back. How was she any different from livestock that meekly followed the rope to the slaughterhouse? She wasfilled with self-hatred, and violent sobs shook her whole body.
She had no idea how long she spent crying, but the sky had begun to take on a tinge of pale purple when the duke entered the room. At the sound of the door opening, Maxi recoiled and sprang to her feet. Her father strode to the middle of the room and haughtily raised his chin.
“I have been too lenient with you,” he said, his voice sending a chill down her spine. “I only requested one thing: that you remain as inconspicuous as a ghost. Was that such a difficult task?”
“I-I was…just trying to s-see him from afar,” Maxi whispered. “I w-wasn’t trying to defy—”
“When did I give you permission to speak?”
The duke struck the floor with his cane, and Maxi promptly closed her mouth.
