The interview lasts barely a minute.
She studies me with soft eyes, eyes that have learned pain too early. When she nods and accepts me, relief crashes through me so hard my knees almost give way.
A roof. Food. Safety.
A miracle.
That night, I sleep on a narrow bed beneath a frost-covered window. For the first time since my world burned, I close my eyes without a blade in my hand.
Morning comes too quickly.
Other maids whisper as they dress me, their voices sharp with pity.
"Her name is Emily," one murmurs.
"Second-highest family in the North."
"An omega among alphas."
"They smile for appearances."
"But behind doors?" A pause. "Cruel."
Anger coils inside my chest, hot and dangerous.
When I enter Emily's room, pale light spills over silken curtains. She sleeps curled inward, as if trying to make herself smaller in a world that already wants her gone.
I approach carefully.
"Good morning, my lady," I whisper. "It's time for breakfast."
She stirs, blinking up at me, and smiles.
"You're the new maid, aren't you?"
"Yes."
She nods, trusting me instantly.
That trust feels heavier than chains.
Her family watches us at breakfast.
Her father's gaze slides over her like she is an inconvenience. Her mother smiles too sharply. And her brother—Ian.
An alpha through and through. Pride drips from him like poison. When his eyes land on me, they narrow.
He thinks I am a beta.
I let him.
If they knew what I truly was, this palace would become my grave.