a's

mething I can't place. It seems like he

traightening my spine. "Ryker..." I mutter unde

in. He gets closer, and his eyes stay on mine. He looks at my face li

it's not an easy question. There is a wei

k in my throat. I'm not telling the truth

ings have changed since you left." There is a pause, a be

s trying to figure out something that doesn't make sense. He might be

creams in my ears. My heart is racing, and

I despise myself for it. The doub

e of what to say. For a brief period, it seems like he wants to say someth

king away, leaving me standing there, fe

ay. There are delicate silks hanging in the closet that I can't picture myself wearing. The smell of

e isn't anything. It feels like I'm drowning as I try to take in everything that is now

m Freya's history that will make this existence feel true and like

ded and put under the best parchment. I op

aughter." First comes the crown

ords don't come from a daughter. This is from so

makes me fall back, and

It was all about power. She wasn't a queen because s

as she? What kind of life has she bee

this place closing in on me. How many times had Freya smiled at R

oes, living her life, and playing a

ands shaking. I need to lear

the wall that is almost disguised by a tapest

de. One letter at the top of the pile st

from

it a

do. You may not understand now, but the lines we draw ar

t me? This wasn't a love let

ore coming in, and his eyes are on mine. My heart skips a beat. I try to calm my breathi

iet today, Freya." He doesn't grin. He d

ds get stuck. I'm not Freya. He doesn

e. "I'm okay.

g time, his eyes narrowin

flinch but don't move away. "Since then, you've been different." H

f losing a sweetheart. It's the kind of sadness you feel

ay. This king is not at all like the one I remember. His heart, which used to be

, as if he isn't even talking to me. "

out and tell him that I'm not her an

t hurts. "What did you want out of this

moment of weakness that shows he is not the king

t is just above a whisper,

in there. And I realize then that his love f

ecause I can'

He just stands there, chilly and detached,

be, I'm the one he'

days of this new life. I think about the woman whose life I now wea

ors and enormous halls of this palace make it feel like a cage. Every painting on the wall an

. The sheets are nice, but they don't make me feel better. I attempt to sit down and breathe, but the air is too thick. I start going thr

Small, har

ck. I can read the words on the label, even

coming worse only because of something natural. Someone has been giving her poiso

hroat. Was it Ryker? Caleb, her fa

ng for someone to jump out of the shad

re. I feel like a prisoner in a life that isn't mine more than ever. I can't

indow. I should never have been brought b

this story. I need to know. I have to. Someone was

me. The servants move like ghosts, and when I pass by, they look down. I can see thei

e tiniest sound of footsteps behind me. I turn

he

h a pale face and h

forward and says, "Yo

rough the air like poison. My mouth

remark, and even I can tell th

sband," she murmurs, her voice cracking, "and your f

en she talks to m

e to breathe. "What a

r. "I can't." They're going to kill me. She

is racing. What did she

worry if this is all part of a far worse plan. What if

art beats loudly in my e