“You smell divine,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing my neck and ear.
I froze. No man had ever come close to me like this. I stood there shocked but slightly intrigued as to how this would play
out. My breath seized in my chest. While my mind pleaded for me to scream, I remained frozen in place.
“For so long, I have watched you from afar. I want you. I want to taste you. Then you called to me—beggingfor me to
rescue you from this life. To take you far away, but when I offer it to you, you shove me away.”
His hand tightened a little around my neck as his other hand wrapped around me more, pulling me closer as he breathed me
in. When he nipped at my earlobe, I felt my cheeks heated and my heart began to beat faster again.
“I do not know what you are talking about. I have never met you in my entire life or asked for your aid.”
He laughed a little under his breath before releasing me, causing me to stumble forward. Lost for words. I didn’t know
what I was supposed to do. I heard all sorts of stories of men getting what they wanted from women. Was that about to happen
to me?
“In due course, everything will become clearer to you,” he said before disappearing right in front of my eyes. “For now, I
will be the only one to know the truth.”
Fear welled up inside me as a bead of sweat trailed down my back. He wasn’t in my room anymore as he spoke, or at least
I couldn’t see if he was. He may have gone back into hiding within the darkest corners of my room. Which made me even more
afraid to sleep.
“Are-are you g-going to hurt me?” I asked, my voice shaking.
He laughed again but did not show himself to me. His chuckle sent shivers down my spine.
“If I wanted to, I would have already.” He paused as if thinking it over, then added, “No, I will not hurt you—for now.”
And then silence. It was as if my body knew he had disappeared, and as I fell to my knees, heaving, anxiously trying to
draw breath to calm myself, I started to cry.
“I will see you soon, my princess,” he whispered.
Feeling his breath against my neck made the tears come to an immediate stop. My back went rigid, and for the next hour, I
sat on the floor, holding myself tightly until I felt it was safe enough to climb into bed.
Chapter 7
ORNELLA
By sunrise, I’d only managed a few hours of rest, as sleep only took me at the point of exhaustion. But when Kathlyn came
to wake me, I shooed her away, shouting and throwing my cushion at her, demanding she return later. I did not wish to
have an early wakeup call and would rather miss breakfast. My absence would go unnoticed.
“But, your highness, the lords will be arriving today.” Her voice filled with worry as she picked up the cushion from the