Chapter 18
Eighteen
Wynter
He leaves me in the conservatory, the heavy glass door clicking shut behind him, the sound echoing the finality of a tomb.
I stand amidst the lush, vibrant foliage, the warmth and humidity a stark contrast to the icy dread coiling in my stomach.
The air is thick with the scent of exotic blooms, a cloying sweetness that feels suffocating.
“You, with your skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony… The fairest of them all.”
His words, borrowed from the very fairytales Evilin used to mock me with, twist in my mind. He sees me as Snow White. But he is no prince. He is the dark king, and this conservatory, with its towering glass walls and vibrant, captive beauty, is my glass coffin.
I walk slowly, my bare feet sinking into the soft, damp earth of the pathways.
Orchids in every conceivable color bloom from hanging baskets, their petals like delicate, painted wings.
Giant ferns unfurl their fronds, creating secluded nooks and hidden alcoves.
It’s a paradise. A beautiful, inescapable prison.
I reach a small, stone bench nestled beside the waterfall.
The rhythmic rush of water is a constant, soothing sound, yet it only amplifies my sense of isolation.
I am miles from anywhere, surrounded by a wilderness I don’t know, guarded by men I fear, and held captive by a man who claims to see me, to protect me, even as he steals my freedom.
His touch, his kiss, his words, they are a confusing tapestry of terror and a strange, dangerous allure. My body still remembers the heat of his, the taste of his lips. It’s a betrayal, a weakness I despise. How can I feel anything but revulsion for the man who has taken everything from me?
But then I remember my father’s journal.
The way he saved it from Evilin’s destructive rage.
The way he looked at me, truly looked at me, and saw the pain I tried so desperately to hide.
Evilin never saw me. She saw a rival, a reflection of her own fading beauty.
My father saw his daughter. Kaden… Kaden sees something else.
Something possessive, yes, but also something… cherished.
My mind drifts back to Evilin. Her obsession with beauty, with youth, with being the "fairest." I remember her late-night conversations with her own reflection, her voice growing shrill, her arguments with an unseen entity.
Sometimes, she would laugh maniacally, other times she would weep, convinced her reflection was mocking her.
As a child, I thought she was simply vain, talking to herself.
As I grew older, I understood it was something far darker, a sickness that twisted her perception of reality.
Her "magic mirror" was a cruel manifestation of her own fractured mind.
Kaden knows Evilin. He knows her cruelty. He knows the marks she left on me. He promised she would pay. The thought sends a shiver through me, a mix of fear and a grim satisfaction. Evilin deserves to suffer. But at what cost?
I trace a pattern on the condensation on the glass wall.
My reflection stares back, pale and drawn, but with a new intensity in my eyes.
I am no longer the terrified girl who fled through the woods.
I am still terrified, yes, but something has shifted.
I am in Kaden’s world now. And if I am to survive, I need to understand its rules. His rules.
My gaze falls upon a small, delicate bird, perched on a branch just outside the glass. It cocks its head, its bright eyes studying me. It’s a wild thing, free to come and go as it pleases. A pang of longing, sharp and acute, shoots through me.
I am not free. But I am alive. And for the first time in a very long time, I am not under Evilin’s thumb. This is a new kind of cage, yes, but perhaps… perhaps it offers a different kind of survival.
A heavy sigh escapes my lips. I need to eat. I need to regain my strength. I need to think. Kaden wants me to be strong. He wants me to thrive. He wants me to accept my captivity.
And I will. But not for him. For me. Because if I am to escape, if I am to ever reclaim my life, I cannot be broken. I will play his game. I will learn his rules. And then, when he least expects it, I will find my way out of this glass coffin.