Chapter 15

ALINA

I spent the next three days locked in my room. I heard several attempts multiple times the day of the people in the palace trying to get me to open the door, but I did not want to. I wanted to stay alone, to wallow in the pain, because thinking of interacting with someone when I was hurting this much sounded like hell to me. I didn’t eat or drink, and barely moved from the bed. I felt numb, hollow, like a shell of myself. Sometimes, I felt like I was just a soul in a vessel that I referred to as my body.

I was too weak to stand up unless I wanted to use the toilet, which I eventually stopped going to because I was not ingesting anything. But today seemed to be the end and they have finally had enough of me isolating myself like this. I heard the door being unlocked, and the door creaked open. I heard soft footsteps approaching. I knew it was Kai. As he towered over me, I felt a familiar elective buzzing between us.

“Alina,” he said quietly, his voice filled with concern. I didn’