/1/123417/coverbig.jpg?v=102a411a109ab4c377b51b01fc5dd902)
y
h was surprisingly gentle, but his body was a cage
against the shell of my ear, sendin
stone, refusing to give him the
" Ace murmured, his voice
er, his nose ski
acts to me, Lyra. I can smell
oil, but I remained still. He knew this wa
was his bro
my heart hammering against
ore a guard or a roami
idn't budge at first, but when I met his gaze with a look cold enoug
a word, I di
sharply against the stone until I reac
t, the composure I had spent ye
sed the air I'd been holding. Closing my eyes, the shadows of the room
all star
h the sounds of shifting, the sickening crack of
, fragile figure watching the othe
rushed toward me. At first, his hands were w
rling. Maybe toda
back to the house with the care one might give a treasure. But the moment the front door close
snapped, his voice e
ached out, my
e that, you us
d me, his eyes scanning me like a merchant inspecting flawed goods. He
lowed to speak. Never. You are
owing skin and the soft gray-blue of my eyes. "But you are the most beautif
hair, forcing m
because of your beaut
, tears slipping
n't talk!" He sighed in frustrat
Ma
eper appeare
er room," my fa
don't want those eyes swollen
. I buried my face in the pillows, weeping for the w
I wailed. "Dad hates me
live," Maya sneered,
. Stop crying before you ruin t
perate, childish thought took root in my mind: If I keep
entire world. The only people I saw were the maids who brought my food and applied expensive
ra," he would say, his
f I keep you hidden for a few mor
I clung to it. As long a
marched in carrying a long, silk red gown that glittered like dragon scales.
one maid whispered, brushing my silve
e this beautiful?"
ked, silencing them
t's
d to smile, to laugh, but I remained frozen, terri
he hall, my father
ut for a second, I let myself believe it. He led me into
Just smile, but
in my ch
ze soft and gentle, hiding the
your daughter?" a man at the end
my father l
her with Ethereal beauty, sometimes I wonder if she is my da
a Lucien, blurted out. He looked at me, the
th ethereal beauty. I would love to marry her off, but sh
e on my face. I know the
ed? It's yours. For free. I have mor
gasped, fei
n't possi
d, desperate to impress th
t at a table while my father traded my silence for land, gold, and power. Word spread like wildfire:
wenty-one i
hday, the maids were mo
s. When I reached the dining room, my fa
a," he said, gesturing t
ng married tomo
was breaking through my
he choice he had promised the world I had. But

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