Stella’s POV
“Your presence has been requested in the ballroom,” one of the guards said, stepping into the slave’s quarters.
I followed him, my steps slow and yet deliberate. The silence stretched between the guard and me. They didn’t talk to me, and I didn’t speak to them. That was how it always worked in this palace. I only talked to them when they spoke to me directly; otherwise, we had no reason to communicate with each other.
I had worked in this palace for many years; I grew up here. My mother was a slave here, and I was born within these walls. Because she was a salve, I grew to be one too. I usually serve the blood slaves at the request of the royals, but occasionally I also serve Prince Alexander.
I stepped into the ballroom, and Alexander stood in the center. I was surpr
