Zita left after some time, and Toby hadn't been brought back to the room. After lying under the soft covers for an hour, the suffocating silence of the grand room became too much to bear. I needed to see Toby. I needed to ensure he was safe.
Ignoring Fredrick’s explicit command to stay put, I slipped out of the room. A cold dread gripped my stomach at the thought of what the King would do to me if he found out I had disobeyed him, but a darker, hollow part of my mind whispered: What can he do to you that hasn't already been done? Another beating? More torture? You are already used to it.
His promise from the forest floor—I won't harm you—echoed in my mind, but I ruthlessly discarded it. Power always hurts the weak. He would break his word eventually.
I stepped into the grand corridor, p
