Janelle
My hands still shook as I scrubbed the blood from the stone floor outside Lord Darius's chambers. Adrian and Darius had drawn actual blood before the guards separated them, and the metallic scent made my stomach turn. But it wasn't the blood that terrified me, it was the look in Princess Sophia's eyes when she'd seen Adrian's rage over me.
She knew.
The memory of that moment played over and over in my mind, the way her perfect composure had flickered for just an instant when she witnessed Adrian's protective fury. I'd seen recognition dawn in her blue eyes, followed immediately by something far more dangerous: calculation. In that heartbeat, I'd watched her mental wheels turning, processing this new information and filing it away for future use.
"Janelle."
The voice made me freeze, my scrub brush hovering over the stained stone. I looked up to see Princess Sophia herself standing in the corridor, her golden hair perfectly arranged, her blue silk gown spotless.
