Finally! This chapter was hard to edit. I feel like Dinah and Zen's dynamic changed in the last chapter, so it was hard to showcase that here. So, did I do a good job of making it clear? Let me know in the comments!
“You’re a scholar of languages, yes?” Walking down the wide stone stairs inside the Empress’ palace, with lamps flickering on the stone walls has an ominous feeling to it. I feel like I should’ve opted for a cloak to truly immerse myself in the feeling. “Yes.” I answer the guard guiding me to the
I step away from them, trying to take a deep breath. Right. This place definitely has a vibe similar to SeraphFall’s library. The sound of my own footsteps echoes in the library as I look around for an itinerary, keeping the closed door in my periphery. I find it all the way across from the sta
Realizing that it’s useless lamenting my headache, I get up and pick the book off the floor. There are no chairs and tables in this library, and that fall made me one with the dust on the floor anyway, so I sit cross-legged against the shelf and prop the book open in front of me. Above my head, lam
I stare at him, eyes wide. How is it possible for someone to stay holed up in this gloomy place for that long? “Of course, I heard you coming down.” Lukas gives me that smile again, the ridiculously shrewd one “You’ve got quiet the expressive vocabulary.” I tighten my hold on the book. Maybe I sho
Ch. 36. What a shit day. That’s my only thought as I lug through the hallways in the Crystal Palace. That underground library must have some warped sense of time, since it was well into the evening when I left. By the time I made it to the Palace through the stupidly huge ‘Imperial city’— as I’ve
All those thoughts leave my head when I enter the bedchamber. Almost in a copy of what I did yesterday, Zen is setting down a tray of tea and biscuits on the low table, cushions arranged around it. He looks up at me, and the slight upward tilt of his mouth makes my heart clench. “I figured you mig
“I see.” Zen says, and I feel the weight of his gaze “Is that all, My Lady?” I glance at him, hooded silver eyes like fresh frost, reflecting my own visage. I know the right thing to do is nod and end this conversation. I know it would change nothing if I complain and tell him how much I disliked
I almost choke on my tea, “You did what?” Zen expression is as placid as ever, “He was making me dance. My brother made fun of me. Of course, I thought if I got rid of the teacher, I would get rid of the teasing.” “What happened to him then?” I ask, morbidly curious “Did you manage to kill someone
I barely manage to find a waste bucket before everything I had for breakfast retches out. My throat burns. My vision is blurry. I dry heave every single thing in my stomach, warmth seeps out of the corners of my eyes. I can’t breathe. The smell of blood is everywhere. I sit there, holding the edges
The smell of rotting flesh is disgusting. Its muscle memory to pull the gloves over my hands, pick a scalpel off the medical tray. The body on the metal table in front of me has no head. ‘You have to take a sample of flesh, a sample of blood and take a look at the internal organs.’ Aunt Cynthia’s
How adorable. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks so, since when I turn back around, everyone from the fourth prince and the first order to passing strangers and our coachman is looking on in disbelief. Is it so difficult to imagine Zen would get along with children? “Don’t leave your mouth ha
“My Lady, am I mistaken or is the fourth prince avoiding me?” I look up from knotting the satchel to my belt to face Zen. There’s a slight furrow in his brows, and he looks at Lukas, standing far, far from us and talking with the first order soldiers. The fourth prince has indeed, been avoiding Ze
I need to move. But even as I think that, I cant bring myself to move. He’s holding me too firmly, I think, entirely reasonable. I won’t be able to slip away like this. Even the most critical part of me can’t find that to be entirely an excuse. After last night, I doubt there’s anyone who would lik
I wake up to the sound of a door knock. My sleep hazed brain registers the sound, recognizes it, and promptly ignores it in favor of cuddling into the warmth of my bed once more. I don’t want to wake up just yet, since last night I fell asleep so late— Last night? My eyes open, blurry with sleep,
But he’s looking at me now, as if the answer might crush him, as if he’s bracing himself for it. I reach out to drape my arms over his shoulders gently, they hang down in front of his chest lightly. “Why? Because you did your job?” I ask quietly, hold his gaze “Or because you didn’t hesitate to do
“Lift your arm, please.” I say, and my voice comes out soft If we weren’t sitting so close to each other, I would’ve missed it. His shoulders tense up, the even breathing stilled into nothing. “You don’t have to do that, Dinah.” Zen finally says My brows furrow. Zen might be a warrior among warri
On the second floor hallway of the hotel, my eyes drift to the room where Zen is supposed to be. My room is just at its side. I wonder if I knock on his door right now, would he be annoyed? He did ask not to be disturbed. The image of his bloodied arm flashes in my mind. Just a moment. I just want