My eyes opened to unfamiliar walls.
For several moments I didn't know where I was. My lashes fluttered against the dim lamplight, and everything swam in and out of focus as if I were staring through water.
The sheets beneath me were soft, too soft, the quilt stitched with delicate flowers that seemed to blur into one another. The air was thick with perfume.
Floral, cloying, suffocating—and it only made the ache in my throat sharper.
Somewhere nearby, I heard water pouring, the steady rush muffled by a door that had been left ajar. Steam drifted from the crack, curling faintly into the air, carrying with it the faint smell of soap.
I pushed myself upright with trembling arms.
The room was clean, elegant even, but foreign. Polished wooden walls gleamed under the lamplight, carved beams accenting the ceiling. A vase of lilies sat on the dresser, their sweet perfume drowning the air.
This wasn't my bedroom in the Alpha's castle.
