Chapter 97: Entrapment

I stare at my reflection, touch my blonde hair. It was an easy enough thing to strip the black dye from it, even encourage growth, as it turns out. I shake it out over my shoulders, long and thick again. I missed it.

So odd the things that matter to me now.

A cold breeze washes in through my window, ruffling the gauzy curtains of my quarters. It's really too late in the season to have them open, the chill of winter less a hint and more a promise, but the fresh air helps me think.

It's hard for me to believe it's only been two weeks since the fall of Caine and the disappearance of Rupe. My fingers trace over the golden tiara resting in an ornate wooden box on my dressing table. This crown belongs to a princess, something I won't be much longer.