I try to sit up, but my limbs feel heavy and unresponsive. I scan the room I've been placed in, seeking any weaknesses in the bars that enclosed me or any tools that might help me escape.
Suddenly, the door to the room creaks open, and the Second Prince Rholker enters. Fear coils in my stomach as I realize that I am trapped in Zlosa, my worst nightmare come true. In the same room as my torturer.
"Ah, you're awake," Rholker sneers, his voice dripping with malice. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever regain consciousness."
"Your concern is touching," I reply, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to control it. "But I assure you, I'm quite fine."
"Of course you are," Rholker mocks, prowling closer like a predator stalking its prey. "You always did have a knack for surviving, didn't you, Estela?"
"Survival is a skill that's served me well," I retort, trying to match his confidence. "Especially in this wretched place."
"You have changed. Where did all of this confidence come from?" he boasts, his eyes gleaming. "You're nothing more than a mouse trapped in a cage."
"Perhaps," I admit, swallowing hard. "But even mice can sometimes escape their traps."
"Is that a threat?" Rholker asks, his lips curling into a cruel smile.
"More of a promise," I shoot back, my heart pounding in my chest. "You'll find that I'm not as easily broken as you might think."
"Interesting," he purrs, circling the cage like a vulture. "I do enjoy a challenge."
"Then I suggest you brace yourself," I warn him, hoping he couldn't hear the fear lacing my words.
"Such fire in your words, Estela," he taunts. "But we both know that you're powerless here. For example, I know you have been looking for your brother. If you want to know whether or not he lives, you'll have to please me."
I snarl and spit at him. "I will find a way to tell your father about this!"
As I say the words, the day before comes flooding back in, and my heart stops in my chest while the cruel giant smiles.
"Didn't they tell you? King Erdaraj is dead. My brother, too. I am king, and you will be my comfort woman.”
"Never," I whisper, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists. "I'll never be yours, Rholker." All I can think about is Teo. The way his skin felt on mine and the way I promised myself to him.
I try to suppress the shiver that runs down my spine at his words, but it is difficult to keep my fear at bay. My heart thuds wildly in my chest, and I can feel the heat of my own panic threatening to consume me.
"Let me out of this cage," I demand, trying again.
He shakes his head and laughs. “All right.”
"Rot in hell," I spit back. My hands tremble as I grip the cold, metallic bars of the cage, and I fought to steady my breathing, counting each inhale and exhale to regain control.
Then he pulls out a key and starts to work on the lock to my cage.
I desperately try to think of something, anything that could keep me from falling into his arms. I rub the back of my hand, and find the ring that Teo gave me. My fingers splay across my throat and also find the necklace.
The nightmare from before returns. I think of the king and the princes, all superstitious fools. When Rholker manages to finish unlocking the cage, I shrink back.
“I’m telling you. Don’t touch me,” I warn, the words tasting like venom on my tongue. "This stone,” I gesture to the gem embedded in my chest, "will curse you if you do.”
"You lie," he murmurs, but his gaze never leaves the stone. He is trying hard not to appear afraid. I've underestimated him before, but he is not an idiot.
I will do whatever I can to keep him from touching me. "If you wish to bring me to your bed, I suggest you remove this stone, or you'll die before you ever have a chance to enjoy being king."
His eyes widen, and a series of curses in giantese slip past his lips. "They've turned you into a witch."
Emboldened by the lack of bars, I take a step forward. And then another. "I'm going to make your life a living hell, giant."
The look on his face, as deepening terror replaces his anger, is priceless. Truly, it's one of the few rewards I'll get for all of this. But there's still one more thing to do. With a nudge from my mind, the Fuegorra in my chest starts to glow.