Chapter 34

Rae

I thought things between Von and I would be different from now on. But, I was wrong. Very wrong.

The entire week leading up to Solstice Night had been buried in planning. Everyone had been running around, trying to make everything perfect. And then, when the night finally arrived, Von had acted like a grumpy child, barking orders and yelling at the maids like they were incompetent.

And then he made Anna cry.

That was my breaking point.

I stormed up to him, not caring that he was in one of his moods.

“Von!" I yelled. He snapped his head in my direction, flashing me a stern gaze.

I wasn’t intimidated by his looks. I stood in front of him meeting his stern gaze.

"What do you want?" Von asked in a firm tone.

"You didn’t have to yell at Anna," I snapped. "She just mixed up the dishes, that’s all—"

"I don’t need you telling me how to handle my staff." His voice was cold, his glare sharper than usual.

“I’m just trying to let you know that what you did was wrong.” I continued not caring about the glare that he shoved my way.

"You have no fucking right to speak to me about such matters." Von declared.

I shook my head. "Oh, so now I have no right to talk to you?"

“Yeah!” He spat and I furrowed my brows.

"You know what, Von? It annoys me to see you act this way. After everything that happened with Landon, I thought you’d at least—"

He scoffed, stepping toward me. There was no distance between us, and I felt the tension up close. "I don’t have time for this."

I wanted to spill out more words but before I could react, he grabbed my arm.

I didn’t see that coming and I let out a gasp as his grip tightened.

“You seem to have forgotten your place here!”He said as he dragged me down the hall.

"Von!" I struggled against his grip, but he was stronger. "Let me go!"

He didn’t listen.

Instead, he shoved me into my room, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

I banged my fist against the door. "VON, OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Nothing. No words. No sound, just silence.

Then I heard his voice, muffled from the other side. "Don’t let her out until the Solstice party is over."

I gasped. "YOU DID NOT JUST LOCK ME UP BECAUSE I HURT YOUR FRAGILE LITTLE FEELINGS!"

Silence. Then followed by it was the sound of footsteps retreating.

"VON, YOU ASSHOLE!" I kicked the door. I was furious.

“Von!” I yelled but all I heard was silence.

I let out a frustrated scream, pacing the room like a caged animal. Then I stopped when I got to the window.

I was going to end Von once I got out of here.

As that thought settled in my mind, I glanced at the window, considering my options. If I could just climb down…

I leaned out slightly, only to realize how far the drop was. My stomach twisted. Yeah, no. As much as I wanted to get out of here, breaking my neck wasn’t an option.

I huffed, stepping away from the window. "Unbelievable."

I gave up settling down on the bed. Some minutes later, the door creaked open.

I spun around, expecting Von. Ready to kill him.

But it wasn’t him.

It was Anna.

"Anna!" I rushed toward her feeling a drop of relief. "How did you get in?"

She held up a tray of food. "Von sent me to bring you this."

I gawked at her. "Oh, so now he suddenly wants to feed me? After locking me up?"

She gave me a small smile. "He’s still looking out for you in his own messed-up way."

I rolled my eyes. "I hate him."

Anna tilted her head. "Funny. A few days ago, you would’ve thought otherwise."

I scoffed. "That was before he dragged me across the damn castle and threw me in here like I was some misbehaving child!" I crossed my arms. "All I did was try to make him realize that the way he spoke to you was wrong."

Anna’s expression softened. "Thank you for standing up for me."

I sighed. "It’s fine."

She hesitated. "I’m sorry you got tangled in this because of me."

"Don’t be." I shook my head. "Because now, I’m going to make Von regret what he did."

I turned, storming toward the door.

Anna quickly stepped in front of me. “You can’t leave."

I arched a brow. “Why?”

She shook her head. "Von told me to bring you food and then leave. If he finds out I let you out, he’ll be furious."

"I don’t care if he’s furious." I spat.

“Rae! Please doing this might lead to—“

“You don’t have to worry,” I told her.

Anna bit her lip. "But—"

"You won’t get in trouble, I promise." I brushed past her, gripping the door handle.

The second I stepped into the hallway, a guard spotted me.

"Hey! Wait!" He yelled in an alarming tone that alerted the other guards close by.

I ran increasing my step and taking the turning that led then the stairs.

Stop right there!" The second guard called out. He was getting closer.

I ignored him, increasing the pace at which I ran.

The minute I arrived down the stairs I could hear loud chatter coming from the courtyard.

“So that’s where the party was being held?” I said to myself.

I walked in the direction of the voices. I was about to cross the entrance when I heard one of the guard's voice pick up.

“Stop her!” He instructed. I looked up to see a guard coming my way.

His eyes widened as his eyes landed on me.

Before he could grab me I managed to maneuver past him. I saw a shocked look on his face as I made my way towards the entrance of the courtyard.

I wasted no time blending with the crowd.

With a glance, I checked to see if the guards were coming after me. There was no sign of them so far.

I let out a breath, I didn’t know I was holding.

Now, all I had to do was find Von. Von thought he could just lock me away like some delicate little princess.

He had another thing coming.