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Walking along the edge of the barrier, Dominick eyed the trees and the grass, searching for any signs that Rosalie had been here recently. Would she have left any indication of her attempts to break through the barrier, had she done so? Perhaps not. But, depending on how desperate she was ...
Dominick continued along the barrier, and it wasn't long until he came across a section of it that looked as though someone had tried to dig beneath it. He knelt down, running his hands through the dirt, and was surprised to find that the magical barrier extended beneath the dirt, making escape from this cursed prison seem even more impossible than before. Digging had been a clever solution that Dominick still needed to try, but it seemed to be a futile effort unless the barrier didn't go very deep, which would be difficult to test with certainty.
Still, Dominick thought over these clues of attempted escape with an air of admiration. Was Rosalie one of those who had tried to break through? The thought overwhelmed him with curiosity and a feeling of hopelessness at once. To think that she may have been here desperately attempting to escape ... on the one hand, he was touched. Her desperation drove her to such lengths for freedom—on the other hand, he was enraged that even having no choice but to bask in his presence in his own home, she would instead try to break free than reconcile with him.
With a heavy sigh, Dominick stood up and gazed out at the forest beyond the barrier. Still, Rosalie's desire for freedom, the likeliness that she had been the one to dig this spot, and the mysterious boy uncovered by Roland ... there was something to this combination that Dominick could use.
And as he walked back through the woods, his shoulders dappled with moonlight, a formidable, devious plan began to formulate in his head.
Soon, Rosalie would be his. She couldn't escape him for much longer.
Chapter 5 - Rosalie
She smoothed down the deep crimson silk and velvet gown Dominick had gifted her this morning for tonight's dinner party. The bodice was laced with golden thread, pulled tight to accentuate her breasts and shapely hips. Admiring herself in the mirror, Rosalie knew she looked amazing. Formidable.
Normally, she would reject Dominick's gifts outright, but tonight was different.
She closed her eyes and exhaled. "You can do this. He won't try to pull anything in front of his court. He knows humiliation doesn't work on me."
Didn't he?
That didn't stop him from trying.
Tonight would be unlike any other dinner party that Rosalie had attended with King Dominick. While in the past, she’d held all the cards ... she feared that the balance had finally tipped in Dominick's favor, or at least was at risk of doing so.
Because if Roland knew about Jay, he, without a doubt, told Dominick what he saw. Rosalie's brother didn't have a hint of familial loyalty in his bloodless, heartless corpse. He'd throw her to the wolves if he had reason to believe it would buy him favor with King Dominick or King Vinir.
The only reason he hadn't already was likely because hurting Rosalie would piss off Dominick. Unless he was the one perpetuating that harm. He did like to have his cruel fun every now and then.
Unfortunately, breaking out through the barrier seemed less and less possible, and after encountering the fae who seemed insistent that it wasn't ... it appeared that Rosalie would have to change her game up a little. She had yet to decide if she was going to act on Aelwen's directions. All Rosalie knew was that if she didn't keep Roland and Dominick from finding out that Jay washerson, she would be screwed.
Now was the time for damage control, which meant playing Dominick's game with Dominick's rules.
She would have to be far more careful than she'd been up to this point. She couldn't get caught again, nor could Jay. Their lives depended on it.
Rosalie stood up straight and looked at herself in the mirror, searching for any trace of weakness or fear. But all she saw in the reflection was determination and strength. Jaw clenched, mouth set in a firm line, eyes blazing with defiance—she looked ready to battle if she had to.
"You can handle this," she said aloud to her reflection. "Those fucking bastards aren't going to take my son from me."
The possibility of them, of anyone, laying a hand on Jay made Rosalie seethe with anger. By threatening her son, whether they intended to or not, they'd forced her protective, mother-bear instincts front and center.
With a deep breath, Rosalie forced her thoughts back to the task at hand. She had to remain composed and in control of her emotions. She couldn't let Dominick get into her head or turn her fear and anger against her.
Rosalie sighed as she turned away from the mirror, her reflection giving her a glare that she was only too familiar with. "Don't let him get to you," she whispered to herself. She had to stay in control of the situation.
But deep down, Rosalie knew that Dominick was actively testing her limits and pushing her toward a breaking point. He was trying to make her feel powerless, inch by inch, wearing away at her as water eroded stone over eons. He wanted her to believe there was nothing she could do but accept his advances and surrender to his whims.
Rosalie clenched her fists in rage, wishing that Roland and Dominick hadn't put her in this position. If they both weren't so power-hungry and manipulative, maybe she'd have a chance of actually finding freedom instead of being stuck in this endless cycle of domination and subjugation. She'd fought harder than anyone else in her family to break the chains of bondage. That was why she was the proprietor of the largest percentage of the slave trade in Daihalsa.
She'd made her wealth off the backs of other human’s blood, sweat, tears, and trauma. She'd escaped the whip and used it to enslave others instead—all for her own freedom.
It made her a hypocrite, just like Dominick said. But in recent years, as Jay had gotten older, Rosalie had started having regrets. That was why she was in this blasted castle in the first place: because she needed to find a way to make up for her previously horrible ways.
Not that Dominick would have listened to her anyway.
Leaving her bedroom, she searched for Jay to say good night to him before she left for the party, but he wasn't in the lounge area anymore. His blue book had been left on one of the sitting tables, which struck Rosalie as odd and made a pang of fear ripple through her.
Her steps were hurried as she rushed into Jay's room, only to find it empty—the bed was still made, and the candle she'd lit so he could read himself to sleep in bed was still burning. Panic began to well up inside of her in earnest.
