a

d, thick with unspoken tension. I had defied him, and the air crackled with the consequences of t

d version of Barron breezed in, carrying a bowl of fruit. He had the sa

t?" he asked, his voice light and teasi

ave me an exaggerated wink. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. Feeling better?

to respond to hi

k that could freeze f

ulian, jus

nt to be in this man's debt. "Mr. Valerius, if that's all, I think I sho

ing the protest from my bruised back. A sharp i

ng. His touch was firm, not rough, but utterly immovable. The heat of his palm seeped thr

his voice a low comma

s a prisoner in a gilded cage. Fine. I

as unlawfully detained in your son's presence, which led to my injuries and caused me to m

ed solution. A business t

room, munching on an apple.

t mine. "No," he said,

n and I st

tration mounting. "You just of

eeming to suck all the air out of the room. His eyes wer

, bewildered. This ma

t were an irrefutable law of physics. "That i

pproached his brother, lowering his

ely on me. He watched my face, my reactions, with

marry

rld st

the polished floor was unnaturally l

n I was hallucinating. Maybe the co

e looked at his brother as if he

say?" I stammered, my

st commented on the weather. "Marry me," he repeated, his voice

, his head tilted in silent curiosity. He didn't understand

to a sense of profound absurdity, which was qu

wer play of the highest order. It was more hum