I didn't care about a single word that came out of Alessia’s mouth. The second the heavy door closed behind us, I just breathed.
"Thank you," I said to Nessa, my voice quiet as our boots tapped against the cold stone floor of the hallway. "Seriously. Thank you."
"It's nothing," she muttered, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "Just doing what I was told."
"She was two seconds away from making me walk out into the hall stark naked," I said, pulling the itchy wool sleeves of the servant dress down over my wrists. "Did... did the King actually send you with these?"
Nessa glanced at me sideways, then looked away. "No. I lied. I saw what was left of your clothes when he carried you up the stairs earlier. They were ripped to shreds."
"Yeah," I whispered.
We turned down a narrower corridor, t
