Chapter 21
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule twenty-one: Sleep with your mouth closed.
There’s a note in my dress.
My initial excitement at finding it has faded because I have no idea how it got there.
Yesterday, after waiting what felt like hours in the cave, I swam back to the surface.
When Leon didn’t immediately pounce, I figured I might as well look for Irena.
I ended up searching the entirety of the old prison and some of the main floor.
The sun was starting to come up by the time Leon finally found me.
He’s been in a sour mood ever since.
Apparently, sleep isn’t part of my ‘health and well-being plan,’ since he spent the day parading me around the castle, hyping everyone up for our upcoming nuptials. Even as he smiled at the crowds, there was no mistaking his occasional eye twitch.
He is not okay with losing.
I made sure the wardrobe was very securely pressed against our connecting door when he finally left me in my room for the night. I was just stripping off my dress when the note slipped out of my bodice.
I read the words again, beyond frustrated.
Meet me at the East Wing entrance after midnight.
There’s no signature, and from the number of people I interacted with today, I have no idea who might have slipped it to me.
So, I might have an ally, but I don’t know who they are. More importantly, I have no way to meet them.
My ally may as well be on the freaking moon, because I’m still locked in. I even tried awkwardly picking the lock with the tip of my scythe. When that didn’t work, I swung the blade at the door a few times, but all I achieved was making more noise than I usually dared.
Groaning, I fall back onto the bed. I only have two nights until the wedding, and I’ve made exactly zero progress on finding a way out of this. I don’t know where Irena is, and Leon will expect me to form a mate bond with him either tomorrow or the morning of the wedding.
No matter how many smaller problems I try to break this into, I keep meeting wall after wall.
Panic tightens around my neck like a noose, and I desperately try to latch onto something I can control.
I find nothing.
This has always been about removing my control, whether through manipulation, destiny, corrupted bonds, or leashes. There are forces so much stronger and older than me who are behind this. They’ve had millennia to become proficient at controlling others. How deluded was I to think I had a chance?
I keep trying to force the impossibility of the situation out of my mind, to focus on my next step, but I can’t find a way out of this.
I don’t know what to do.
The gray haze grows impossibly thicker, suffocating me. Tears start to roll down my cheeks, and I curl up on top of the blankets, still wearing my god-awful corset. This time, I don’t have it in me to hold them back.
All I want to do is open the mate bond and let Sin comfort me, but I don’t dare. Feeling my pain would only hurt him more.
I sob until finally, I fall asleep.
There’s someone in my room.
It takes all my willpower not to move a muscle when I regain consciousness. Instead, I freeze, trying to piece together what I’m hearing, without alerting whoever is in here that I’m awake.
There’s a wet slapping noise, punctuated by the occasional whispered groan.
Another minute and I catch the sound of heavy breathing.
My blood turns to ice.
Peeking just a sliver, I find Leon standing over my bed, pleasuring himself as he watches me sleep.
Fuck, no. Not tonight. I thought I had more time.
His breathing picks up, and he reaches for the bed. My panic ratchets up another notch, and I mentally scramble as to what I can say to get him away from me. But rather than touch me, he picks something up, fisting it in front of his erection.
My dress, I realize. He’s picked up my dress.
Another moment and the wet slapping noises grow more erratic, until he lets out a guttural groan.
I close my eyes, forcing myself to look peacefully asleep, in a desperate hope that he’ll leave.
My stomach lurches when a moist thumb brushes against my bottom lip.
“So fucking soon,” Leon whispers.
His footsteps retreat, but not in the direction of our adjoining door.
Confused, I peek again, only to see him stop in front of the wall beside my main door. He looks perfectly satisfied as he presses down on an intricate pattern carved beneath the sconce. The action causes a slab of the wall to silently swing inside.
A door.
There’s a secret door to my room.
Bile rises in my throat, wondering what else he might have done over the last few nights.
The door shuts behind him, and I’m alone once more.
Grabbing a blanket, I rub the moisture off my lips until they feel like they’re going to bleed.
I want to peel my skin off, crawl out of it – anything to not feel like this. My eyes water from the feeling of complete violation, but I shove it down.
The castle is quiet enough that I easily track Leon’s footsteps as he enters his own room. I wait ages after he’s stopped moving, wanting to make sure he’s fully asleep, before I silently pad out of bed.
I have a secret meeting to get to.