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But that’s one more thing I have no power to control.
“Yes, of course.Mother.” At least, I can try not to provoke him. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Good,” he smiles, but there is no warmth to it. “We all know what happens when you aren’t at your best.”
And there it is. The reason I am here at all.
My sisters would pay for my disobedience.Hadn’t they before?
I take a deep breath, willing the emotion from my face.
The carriage rattles and shakes as we draw nearer the ancient gray stone walls ahead. With each bump and jolt, my stomach sends waves of nausea through me. I focus on what lies beyond the frosted window — anything to distract myself.
The top of the castle and the outer walls surrounding it come into view at last. The enormous façade is outlined by a lifeless, overcast sky and the black, choppy waters of the canal that encompass it.
The slow groan of an iron gate rattles the world around us, a foreboding greeting playing out in each clink of metal as it lifts high enough for our carriage to pass through.
Ahead of us stands Castle Alfhild, a massive edifice of dark, imposing turrets.
Morbid curiosity takes over as I scan each menacing brick and snow-covered tower. The castle has exactly one splash of color. Almost as if it was an afterthought, a single stained-glass window sits high above in one of the spires, mocking me with its depiction of a black-stemmed, blood-red rose.
Rose.
The word is like a curse that follows me everywhere I go.
I sit up straighter, pushing the thought and its painful associations out of my head. I smooth out the skirts of my beaded red bridal outfit, more to occupy myself than because I actually care.
Because I need to think about anything other than my frantically beating heart and the ceremony ahead that will surely break what’s left of it.
“You look lovely,LadyZaina.” Damian twirls a lock of my midnight hair around his finger, his words dripping with a vulgar sort of lust.
His other hand reaches up my thigh, and I sit perfectly still, forcing a playful smirk to my lips. Slapping him away would only invoke his wrath, and I wouldn’t be around long enough to subdue it.
“Thank you,” I say with a wave of my finger. “But no touching. We’re nearly there now, and I wouldn’t want to give my new husband the wrong idea about our relationship.”
He laughs, and it only encourages my nausea.
“Don’t kid yourself, Zaina. It’s not like anyone could mistake you for a virtuous bride, even with this.” His fingers play along the chain that runs from my golden nose ring to my matching ear cuff.
“And as far as ourrelationship.” He says the word like it’s something dirty, and I fight the urge to shudder. “I know Mother has had her reasons for keeping me out of your bed, but there will be time enough for that down the line.”
I swallow down the bile building in my throat, my smile freezing on my face. I don’t need anyone to remind me that I’m tainted goods. Damian knows better than anyone that choice was never mine.
A few more moments pass by in silence until we finally come to a rocky halt. Damian steps out of the carriage to be met by a shadowed figure that towers over him. A man, I realize.
They converse in low tones until I hear the clipped edges of the sadist’s words, enough to realize that he’s upset.
I can’t hear what the newcomer is saying, but the whispers that linger at the end of each syllable send tremors down my spine. Their conversation is a brief back-and-forth until Damian rips open the door. His dark eyes are furious, but his voice is calm when he speaks.
“Looks like I won’t be allowed to so much as walk you in.”
I bite back a satisfied smile at his frustration. I’m not sure why he expected anything different when we had known I would face this alone.
I give the servants one last glance. I wish I could help them, but I can’t even help myself at this point.
Reluctantly, I take Damian’s hand to step out of the carriage. The man who had been speaking to him is now visible, and it takes everything I have to face him bravely.
This is it. There’s no turning back now.
