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And what kind of peace is that?I wondered.Forever on the run?
“Are you deaf?” Hanover yelled directly in my ear. “I’m talking to you!”
I jumped and pivoted my head toward him, a black strand escaping my high bun to fall over my cheek. I’d lost weight since my arrival, my appetite non-existent.
“N-no,” I stuttered, afraid to antagonize my superior, much as I wanted to cast a spell on his shrill, angry head, dousing him in freezing rain and encasing him in ice. “I’m sorry. What did you say, Hanover?”
He stomped toward the nearby bed and ripped all the sheets off, shoving all the freshly changed linens to the ground as I stared in dismay. I’d just struggled for at least ten minutes with the chore.
“Do it again. It looks terrible. And you have five minutes left to finish this room. Chop-chop!”
With that, he left me there, presumably to berate the maid in the next room, and I sighed shakily, moving to remake the bed. I would never finish in the timeframe he had laid out, but if I wanted to keep this job, I had no choice but to do what he barked at me. I closed my eyes and summoned strength from somewhere inside me, wishing that I had the guts to ignore his rule and use my magic to finish the room.
“Psst.”
My eyes flew open, and a small, sloe-eyed fae poked her head out from the adjoining door. She wore a maid’s uniform like me and gestured for me to stand back.
“Get away from there,” she urged.
I stepped away as she instructed, my own eyes wide.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, surprised to see her there, but she didn’t respond, extending her hands.
A flash of light extended from her fingertips, and in a blink of an eye, the bedding sat in perfect position, the room literally sparkling, a lemony scent lingering in the air.
Gasping, I turned back to look, but the female figure was gone as quickly as she’d come, leaving me to admire her magical handiwork. Hanover returned in the allotted five minutes, sniffing rudely as he saw the cleaned bedroom.
“Was Lottie in here?” he growled. “This smells like Lottie’s work, not your usual crap.”
“Who?” I replied, sincerely confused.
He glowered at me, but before he could press me, a commotion in the hallway steered his attention toward the open door. Loud voices filled my ears, distracting us both.
“Where is she? Where is Zephyrine?”
The little relief I’d garnered in the aftermath of Lottie’s help dissipated at the sound of my name. Ice water rushed through my veins as I looked for a spot to hide.
How did he find me? Why now? Did I get careless? Did someone recognize me and call him?
“There’s no Zephyrine, here, Alpha!” I heard someone protest. “Please, come to the manager’s office, and we’ll help—”
The door flew all the way open, and I found my eyes locking with Cade’s panicked cobalt irises. A fusion of relief and pain flooded his face. Dizziness overcame me, but before either of us could speak, Hanover rushed back in behind him.
“Zephy,” he mouthed, disbelief overtaking him as he looked at me, shaking his head.
“Her name is not Zephyrine, Alpha,” he blubbered, bowing and groveling. “But if you come with me—”
Cade ignored him and strode forward as I moved away, hands up.
“Don’t,” I insisted. “I told you not to come, Cade.”
My surly manager stared at us both in utter bewilderment, trying to understand our dynamic, but my focus was strictly on Cade and his next move. Ryland appeared in the doorway, then Jasper. My heart jumped to see Jasper. I wanted to ask him about Maywin, but I didn’t dare. Not when Cade was advancing on me, his expression indiscernible.
Is he furious? Happy to see me?
I genuinely couldn’t tell. Tension flooded the room.
“What is this?” Cade hissed, anger in his words but pain in his eyes. “You’re working as a maid?”
