POV: Lucian
They gave me three hours to prepare for a feast I didn't want to attend.
The chambers in the royal wing were obscenely beautiful—all dark velvet and polished wood, with windows that looked out over Thornhaven's sprawling darkness. A prison cell dressed in silk and shadows. The servants who'd come to "prepare" me had worked in efficient silence, their hands never quite steady as they'd dressed me in clothes that felt more like costume than comfort.
Black silk that moved like water. Silver embroidery that caught the light wrong, making it look like the threads were moving. And a mask—because of course there was a mask. Half my face covered in something that looked like carved bone, painted with gold on one side and deep crimson on the other.
A hybrid rendered in decoration. How thoughtful.
