After her noon meal that day, Aveline finally made her decision.
If she were being prepared as a sacrifice, then the smartest thing she could do was wait. Wait until her body regained strength, until she could run without collapsing after a few steps. Then she would escape.
For the past several days, she had been quietly observing everything around her. During the day, two guards stood outside her chamber door, their boots scraping occasionally against the stone floor. Below her window, in the courtyard, two more lingered within sight, pretending not to watch.
She was on the second floor; high enough to injure herself if she fell poorly, but not high enough to make escape impossible.
At night, the guards were replaced by dogs.
Men were impossible. She could not fight trained soldiers in her current state. But dogs… dogs were simpler. Dogs understood hunger. And she understood hunger better than anyone.
She had been saving bones.
Even when Theron watched her like a hawk during meals, she had managed to slip a few small bones into her sleeves, hiding them later beneath the bed. It had taken patience and careful timing, but she had done far more difficult things to survive before. If she could distract the dogs long enough, she could buy herself precious minutes.
And she had jewelry… Enough to sell in another city, cross a border ,and disappear somewhere no one knew the name Aveline.
If she became no one, no one could sacrifice her.
The only true problem was Theron.
When the dogs were released at night, he was always beside her. Sometimes she woke to find his arm draped around her waist, his body warm at her back. He slept lightly; she had tested that. Once, when she had tried to inch away toward the edge of the bed, his arm had tightened unconsciously, as though even in sleep he refused to let her drift too far.
He was the obstacle she could not predict.
But it was not impossible.
She would need to remain awake longer than he did. Wait until his breathing deepened full and his body fell slack. Then she would carefully slide from his hold, open the window without sound, lower herself down, distract the dogs with the bones, and run.
It was dangerous.
But staying was more dangerous.
She refused to become a well-fed offering laid neatly before a cruel prince. The thought of Prince Vaelor's rumored tastes made her stomach twist despite the comfort surrounding her.
No amount of silk or warm baths would make her forget that she had been sold.
She knelt beside the bed and reached beneath it, fingers searching along the ropes that supported the mattress. Carefully tucked between the slats were the three bones she had saved and a small bundle of jewelry wrapped in cloth. She checked them twice, ensuring nothing had shifted.
They were still there.
Still hers.
Her means of survival.
Soon, she'd decide her own fate.
But then she noticed them.
Ants.
A whole marching army of those tiny, cursed creatures that existed for no purpose other than ruining perfectly good escape plans.
They had found the bones, of course.
Aveline stared at the little black invaders in absolute betrayal. Traitors.
What was she supposed to do now? If Theron saw even one ant crawling out from under the bed, her entire plan would collapse. And then what? Interrogation? Punishment? And worst… disappointment?
She shuddered.
Absolutely not.
Dropping to her knees, she began frantically wiping them away with the edge of her sleeve, flicking them aside as they had personally offended her lineage.
"Go away! Go eat someone else's misery," she muttered under her breath. She needed rosemary to keep those buggers off. But where could she get it?
She managed to clear most of them, most being a very generous word… before she heard it.
Footsteps. Those steady, measured, and unmistakable footsteps of… Theron.
Aveline froze for a split second before her survival instincts kicked in. She dove onto the bed, rolled onto her side, and stretched like a well-rested noble lady who had spent her entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing suspicious.
The door opened.
"How was your afternoon nap?" Theron asked as he walked in.
Aveline sat up slowly, blinking as if she had just woken up from the most peaceful sleep in existence.
Her gaze lifted to him…and stopped.
What on earth is he wearing?
The question screamed inside her head, but she swallowed it down. Once upon a time, she would have mocked him without mercy. Now?
Now, he was a very large, very dangerous blade hanging directly above her life. Mocking him seemed… unwise, to say the least.
Theron moved toward the bed, and Aveline sprang into motion. She jumped down and hurried to him before he could take another step inside.
He was observant. Too observant.
One single ant marching heroically out from under the bed could destroy her entire plan… and likely her spine along with it.
She plastered on her sweetest expression and rushed up to him, placing her hand on his chest with exaggerated delicacy.
"Can you take me for a walk?" she asked, batting her eyelashes so earnestly it almost hurt.
There were several very important reasons for this request.
First, she needed him out of the room. Second, she needed to see the surroundings properly.
Third… and most importantly, if there were any more ants, they could do their ant business in peace while she was gone.
Theron's gaze dropped slowly to her hand.
She was… patting him.
Gently… Like he was a particularly large, slightly dangerous house dog she was trying to befriend.
His eyes lifted to her face. Those wide, innocent, entirely untrustworthy eyes.
His brow twitched.
What was she plotting this time?
"Come in," Theron suddenly said, his gaze shifting toward the door.
Aveline flinched so hard she nearly tripped over her own feet. Before she could embarrass herself completely, his hand shot out and caught her wrist.
He pulled.
She collided straight into his chest.
It was solid.
Unfairly solid.
For a brief, very confusing second, neither of them moved. His hand settled at the small of her waist to steady her… and then, almost absentmindedly, his thumb rubbed lightly against her back.
Her heart began pounding, loudly, violently, and… suspiciously.
She froze.
That… did not feel like fear.
That felt like…
No. Absolutely not.
She gulped and quickly stepped back, putting a very respectable distance between them.
Theron looked entirely unaffected. "I'm taking you out for dinner. Get ready."
Aveline blinked. "Out?"
He had already turned and walked out without explaining further.
A moment later, the door opened again and two maids entered, carrying something draped over their arms.
A dress.
Not just any dress. A complicated dress. The kind of dress that required strategy, engineering skills, and at least three witnesses to put on. It shimmered under the light, elegant and expensive.
Aveline stared at it as if it might suddenly grow fangs.
Is this it?
Is this the day I get sacrificed?
Am I too late?
Her mind spiraled dramatically while the maids began circling her like professional conspirators.
-----
Outside the chamber, Theron leaned against the wall, one knee bent casually.
He looked relaxed.
He was not.
"After we leave," he said quietly to the guards, "clean the underside of the bed and mattress."
The men bowed immediately.
He knew.
Of course, he knew.
She had been sneaking bones. And now there were ants.
Ants… Running across her clothes earlier, like they had paid rent.
He dragged a slow breath in and tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling.
When will you trust me?
The thought lingered longer than he expected. Then he lowered his head and let out a sharp exhale.
Maybe… her instincts were right.
Maybe she shouldn't trust him.
The door opened.
Evening light framed her in gold.
Theron looked up. The world narrowed to the woman walking toward him.
He forgot to breathe.