Valentina's POV
The bed was too big. Everything in the room was too much, the vaulted ceiling with its black beams, the tall curtains that looked like they belonged in cathedrals, the scent of leather and ash that clung to every surface like memory. The pillows were thick and soft, and I hated them for it.
I didn’t belong here. This wasn’t a place people like me slept.
This was a place people were kept still, I lay back carefully. As if the bed might reject me too.
The gown they’d given me to change into was thin. Almost transparent. Pale silver silk, sleeveless, soft against my skin. It clung in places I didn’t want it to, reminding me with every movement just how exposed I was. I curled my legs slightly and folded my arms over my stomach, willing myself not to shake.
They said this
