A jarring shock tore through me, and I violently jerked awake, my heart slamming against my chest as I bolted upright.
I was drenched in sweat, and what happened flitted through my mind.
Melody…
My friend—or the woman I thought was my friend—had tried to kill me. There had been nothing behind her gaze. Like I had never even mattered.
What WAS she?
I clutched my wrist to my chest, choking back a sob.
I couldn't believe my childhood friend had tried to kill me.
I could still see her emotionless stare, and it felt like a knife in my chest.
I looked around and a sinking feeling made me go still as I realised this was Lord Fashire's bed-chamber.
He was still alive?
I had seen Melody slit his throat, and all that blood… There was no way he could have survived that.
And yet I was in his chamber. In his bed.
Which meant—
The door shifted and my senses went on high alert as he walked in.
The weary expression on his face caught me by surprise. It was a stark contrast to his usual cold demeanour.
He sat at his desk and stilled, turning to look at me as if just registering my presence. I clutched the covers.
"Why did she attack you?" The annoyance in his voice sparked something in me.
That was a foolish question. How was I supposed to know why she attacked me?
"Is my father alive?" I quietly gritted out.
His steely gaze cut through me. My fists trembled on the covers and it had nothing to do with fear. He never gave me answers no matter how much I pleaded, but I just needed this one.
Because if Melody had been lying to me all along, if she had never been my friend, then what about everything else?
She was the one who visited my father when I couldn't. She paid the healer. She checked on him.
What if she had been hurting him this whole time? What if he was already—
The thought cracked something inside me. The anger gave way to grief before I could stop it. I crumpled forward, face buried in my palms, sobbing.
The mere thought of losing him was unbearable. I refused to believe he was dead.
His health had been improving the last time I even saw him—
"Enough!"
Lord Fashire's roar penetrated my skin, causing me to shiver as a harsh cold consumed the chamber, rapidly followed by an intense heat wave that shattered the frost and distorted the air.
I flinched, my sobs ceasing instantly as my lips clamped shut. My eyes stung as tears kept flowing. I hunched forward even more, wrapping my arms around myself as I buried my face in the covers.
An overwhelming urge to see my father consumed me.
I had to find a way out and fast.
Lord Fashire cursed under his breath and his loud footsteps hammered against the floor as he walked away.
"Get up. Go wash yourself. Edna will come in with a fresh change of clothes. You will be following me after."
The doors slammed shut and I raised my head, confused.
I was following him. Where? Were we going out?
If we were going out, it would be my only chance to escape and check on my father. But I would need something sharp to cut myself with whenever I needed to use my blood against that monster.
Melody's betrayal still stung but I couldn't afford to dwell on it.
I forced myself off the bed and searched his desk. A dark metal bookmark slipped from one of the books—one end slightly sharp. I pressed it into my palm. Blood seeped out.
I watched, disturbed, as my skin knit together. The pain lingered, but the cut was gone.
I took the bookmark with me to the bath chamber, washed quickly, and hid it in the towel I wrapped around myself.
When I walked back into the room, Edna was eyeing me with disdain. There were clothes on the bed.
"You have hands, do I look like your personal maid?" she snarled, her features hardening.
I turned my back to her and I felt her gaze turn away from me with a scoff.
I took my time dressing up and eventually hid the bookmark in the folds of the dress' underskirt.
I was about to zip up the back of my dress when Edna flitted to my side in an instant, snapping the zip up my back with such force it nearly grazed my skin.
I flinched and darted away from her, horrified.
She ignored me and set aside packing up the dirty garment I had left on the bed.
A small part of me wanted to smear my blood on that nasty face of hers and watch her squirm in agony but I immediately stifled the thought.
The door burst open and Lord Fashire stood there, glowering down on the both of us as he let out a sharp hiss, "Take her out."
Edna directed a frown at me and pulled on my wrist, dragging me out of the chamber. Lord Fashire closed the door behind us and Edna's grip on me caused my wrist to feel sore. Right after, I felt a stinging pain.
"What are you—" I started, about to yank my hand from her painful grip when I was flung forward. I tripped, falling to the hard floor on all fours.
My palms stung from the impact and I spotted the reddened bruise on my wrist, immediately noticing the beads of blood seeping out.
I turned to look up at Edna. She had pinched me.
"What is wrong with you?!" I snapped, fed up. "Did he even give you permission to treat me like—" My words died in my throat when Edna raised her hand to her face and licked my blood.
Time stood still.
Then her face contorted into that of pure horror.
She jerked away from me and dry heaved, her eyes watering as she clawed at her throat.
"Wa—wait!" I reached out but she fled, vanishing down the hallway.
I looked at the door. Then without a second thought, I raced after her.
A strange tug pulled me in directions I had never taken. It was as if I already knew where I was going. I paid attention to the floor, noticing the blood splatters.
She bleeding?
From where?!
A low groan reached my ears and I dashed forward, following the trail to an open door. I looked into what appeared to be a small storage room, and the sight of Edna on the floor made me gasp.