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I narrowed my eyes. “Do they have some hold over you? A spell? Something stronger than glamour?”
Again, Garrick was silent. But his silence and the pleading look that had entered his eyes was answer enough.Maybe part of the hold the siblings had over him forbade him to speak of it, but he still couldn’t lie. And if he couldn’t lie and claim they weren’t using him...theywere.
But that didn’t change my circumstances. It only solidified the fact that I couldn’t trust Garrick.
I spun, undoing the window latch to slide it open. Biting wind swirled into the room and cooled my heated skin as I leaned out, finding the drop to the ground below wasn’t too far.Though I knew I couldn’t escape with Garrick here, I could test his allegiance, once and for all.
“What are you doing?” Garrick’s footsteps thundered behind me as I did my best to swing my leg over the sill. The corset tightened even further, until it was more like a vice around me, half-strangling my breath. I swayed, spots dancing across my vision.
Just as I expected, Garrick’s arms wound around me, yanking me into the room. Holding me upright with one arm securely around my waist, he used his free hand to close the window and secure the latch.He was gentle about it, but in this moment, willing or not, he was still my captor.
“You have to...fight it,” I choked out, my breathing too rapid. “Let me...go. Fight whatever hold they have on you. You can’t leave me to die.”
“It’s an honor to serve them, the same as it is an honor to undergo a trial and prove you’re a Silverfrost.” Garrick’s voice was low again, dangerous. And I had the strange sense his words weren’t even his own. He pulled away, scanning me and frowning. “Why can’t you breathe?”
Frustration flared inside me.Quiet, kind Florentia.That side of my personality that had served me in the human world would do no good here, in this moment. Though a part of me hated thevery idea of controlling Garrick without his permission, just as others were doing, I was desperate. And I was no longer in my spelled rooms, which meant I should be able to use glamour—glamour that would work on him. “You need to let me go,” I said calmly. “Lead me safely to Ashwood. Let no one see us escape.”
For a moment, Garrick stared at me, brow pinched. No glazed look entered his eyes. No sign that he felt stirred to listen. Then he scrubbed a hand along his jaw. “Your glamour can’t work against...” He hesitated, as if searching for words he was permitted to speak. “Their rules.”
My hope withered. But it made sense. Of course the siblings wouldn’t have dared to make Garrick my bodyguard unless they were certain I could never glamour him. Whatever power they held over him was somehow more powerful, more unbreakable, rendering mine ineffective.
Instead, I took advantage of Garrick’s distraction and bolted toward the door. But spots continued to flash in my sight, and I stumbled, barely catching myself by seizing the bed post. My chest heaved, every breath sending agony through my bones.
Behind me, Garrick swore as his footsteps stalked closer. “Hold still.” There was the hiss of a blade being drawn from its sheath, and my heart staggered in fear. I tried to whirl and face him, but he coiled one arm around my waist, holding me in an iron grip. I thrashed, and he sighed. “Hold still,” he repeated. “Unless you want me to cut you.” His voice was tender, more like the man I remembered, like maybe in this moment he was himself and not whatever Preston and Nerissa made him to be.
I obeyed, relaxing my body against his. Something slid beneath my corset, the sound of fabric and ties snapping and coming undone accompanied by a sudden release. The constraining pressure against my ribs vanished as my ruined corset fell to the floor. I took a deep breath, my head clearing as air flooded my aching lungs.
“Who bound you so tightly?” Garrick demanded.
His arm loosened, letting me face him. His free hand sheathed his hunting knife at his hip while his other continued to grasp my waist, as if expecting me to collapse again.
“Isolde, the healer.”
Garrick’s scowl deepened. “Seems she did a shoddy healing job. May I...” He hesitated. “Could I check your ribs?”
My cheeks flamed. “I’m not undressing for you.”
His eyes widened. “I wasn’t asking you to. I was going to do the undressing.”
“What?”
Garrick shook his head. “Not likethat. I’ll only unbutton the back of your dress enough to check the bruising around your ribs. Unless Isolde added a hundred more layers under that outfit?”
I shook my head, still speechless, my face too hot.
“Starlight,” Garrick said, his voice softening. Compassion shone in his eyes. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you. I’m trying to help you.”
Slowly, I nodded and turned around.
Garrick sighed, his breath warm on the back of my neck as he began unbuttoning. Every muscle in my body tensed, but I was in enough pain that I couldn’t protest anymore. If he could help me, I would accept that. It wasn’t as if I could escape very far in my condition.
When he’d unbuttoned me all the way to my lower back, he paused, kneeling to inspect my skin and hissing. His calloused fingertips skimmed along my side, softly enough not to hurt. I swallowed my gasp, not wanting him to hear me. That would have been embarrassing.
“It looks awful,” he muttered. “Fae magic should have healed you more than this by now. You can’t fight like this.” He stood, circling me to look me in the eyes. “I’m fetching a healer.” Hehesitated. “Just because I’m not in the room, doesn’t mean I can’t stop you. I have orders.”
Garrick’s fingers caressed my neck, so lightly the touch seemed like an accident.
I nodded sadly. Waves of exhaustion swept over me, and I teetered on my feet.
