Mia sat on the edge of the bed, fingers twisting the sheets until they wrinkled into uneven folds.
Every breath she took felt heavier than the last. The chamber was silent except for the steady tick of the clock on the wall and the faint rustle of curtains shifting with the afternoon breeze. She had not spoken since the guards left her here under royal command.
Stay here until further notice.
Those were the words that kept replaying in her head, cutting through the air like invisible chains.
She stood abruptly, pacing across the carpet. The maids who had served her earlier were gone now, but she could still smell the traces of lavender soap and polished silver they'd left behind. They had avoided her eyes, bowed too deeply, whispered too quickly. Even their silence had sounded frightened.
