Chapter 12

Sylvia’s POV

“That’s enough,” Lucian’s voice boomed across the dining hall, silencing his sons. “You will not make fools out of yourselves in my presence. Eat your food… all of you.” His eyes cut to me, as if I had done wrong.

I wanted to yell… to scream… anything but stay in this wretched dining hall with these men.

Kale and Vincent remained silent as they ate, but their eyes continued to shoot in my direction periodically; Kale with the look of annoyance, and Vincent with a mocking gaze that told me this conversation wasn’t over.

I felt a chill creep up the back of my neck.

I put a small amount of food on my plate, and my stomach twisted in knots. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat right now, not around these people. The rest of the meal went by in a blur; Kale left at the end without a word to me, though he said goodbye to Lucian with a respectful bow to his head, which honestly surprised me.

I imagined him as someone who had no respect at all.

Vincent stood, finishing off the rest of his wine, and gave me a wink.

“I’ll be seeing you later,” he said before he turned and left.

I scowled after them, hating the fact that my chest was tightening with each breath I took.

“They will get used to you being here,” Lucian said, cutting through my thoughts.

“I don’t think I ever will get used to them,” I murmured.

“You didn’t eat much.”

The subject change caught me off guard, and I blinked.

“I’m not very hungry.”

He nodded, as if he understood why I wasn’t very hungry.

“I’ll have someone bring you food later,” he told me before he stood to his feet. “Come with me, I have a surprise for you.”

My chest tightened even more.

“I don’t want it,” I said stubbornly, folding my arms across my chest like I was some defiant child. I internally groaned; my mother would be so disappointed with how I was acting, but I couldn’t help myself. These men were bringing it out of me, and once it started, it couldn’t be stopped.

There wasn’t any anger in his eyes, though; in fact, I swear I saw something like humor flicker through his gaze as he assessed my folded arms and pressed lips.

“You’ll want this one,” he assured me.

He started to walk out of the dining hall under the assumption that I’d follow him. He trusted me so much to follow after him that he didn’t even turn back to ensure that I was. A part of me almost walked away and went back to my room, but my feet had a mind of their own, and I found myself following after him despite myself.

He brought me to his office, and when he stepped in, he turned to look at me.

“I know your first day here hadn’t been easy, and I apologize,” he said, his voice calm. “That wasn’t my intention. I only wanted you to feel as though you belong. As my friend's daughter, I think of you as family. I know your life in Moon Veil wasn’t ideal, and things are changing rather fast.”

I stared at the floor; I hated that he was seeing right through me, like he could read my thoughts.

“How about for tonight, we slow things down,” he suggested, leaning against his desk, his arms folded across his chest as he assessed me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my brows dipping.

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Enter,” Lucian ordered, his voice calm and his eyes never leaving mine.

The door opened, and I turned to see Carla stepping in.

“Your Majesty, I brought whom you had requested,” she said, stepping aside.

My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a bright-eyed and big-smiling Grace walking through the door.

“Grace!” I exclaimed.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me, and we threw ourselves into each other’s arms. At that moment, I let the tears I had been holding in all day fall free.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Grace whispers, holding me tighter. “Even though it’s only been a day.”

We both giggled and pulled apart to look at one another.

“It feels like a century,” I whispered.

“I gave Grace the night off,” Lucian said, cutting through our small bubble. “I will give her a couple of nights off a week to do whatever she pleases. She is not a prisoner… nor are you, Sylvia. I want this palace to be a home to both of you, not a cage.”

“That is very kind of you, Your Highness,” Grace said, bowing slightly.

I remained silent, my eyes pouring into his. I didn’t trust him, and it was palpable.

“Are we dismissed?” I asked, my voice coming out drier than intended.

He stared at me for a moment longer, like he expected something else from me. I wasn’t going to take scraps and call it a meal. The least he could do was let me see my best friend. I wasn’t going to thank him for that small act of kindness.

“Yes,” he finally said after a long pause.

I took Grace’s arm and pulled her out of the office, our footsteps hurried as we made our way to my bedroom.

Grace nearly screamed when she saw the room I was given. She told me her room was also nice, but it was nothing in comparison to this. As she went through my entire wardrobe, cooing at all the new outfits I was given, she went on and on about how incredible her day had been. I wasn’t ready to talk about mine, so I let her talk about hers until her heart's content.

“Everybody is so nice,” she told me. “I was also given some new clothes, but they aren’t as nice as these. But it’s perfect for me. They were worried I’d get them dirty during maid duties, so it made sense as to why my clothes weren’t brand new and designer brands like these. Carla is the best… she’s so funny when you get to know her, and she really does love working here. They told me how much money the maids make, and holy shit, they make so much, Syl. I’m going to be making bank while working here.”

I listened to everything she said, right down to how incredible the food was here. When she finished, she noticed the look on my face, and she frowned.

“What is it?” She asked; at this point, she was lying on my bed and facing me as I sat at the edge of my bed, one leg pulled up to my chest and the other dangling off the edge of the bed.

“I don’t trust any of them, Grace,” I whispered.

She cocked her head to the side.

“You never trust anyone,” she retorted. “Not everyone is going to do you bad, Syl. Not everyone is the Moon Veil Pack.”

“Don’t you remember what they did to me? Years of torment. I wasn’t born this way, Grace. I was created.”

“The Moon Veil Pack created you… But this isn’t them. This is the Ironclaw pack. The King was nice enough to let us stay here. We should give them a chance.”

“You weren’t there…” My voice dropped to a whisper as I stared down at my lap. “His sons were assholes. It was a dinner from hell.”

I proceeded to catch her up on all that’s happened, even the fact that Lucian found out I can’t read. Grace’s face grew redder with each thing I said, and when I ended it with Vincent’s innuendo, she gasped.

“That jerk,” she muttered, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m sure they just need to get used to you being around. I still think we should give them a chance. First impressions are tough.”

I doubted our second impression would be any better, but I didn’t want to burst the little bubble she found herself in.

After a little while, Grace went into my bathroom to bathe in the incredible tub that I was given. She didn’t have to work until late morning, so we decided to have a sleepover. Carla arrived shortly after with a platter of food for the two of us.

Grace suggested that she stay and hang out with us, but she couldn’t because she had to continue to work.

We ate and talked some more; as the night wore thin, I grew tired. Grace had already fallen asleep by the time I allowed my eyes to rest as well.

However, just as I was about to drift off, a voice sounded in my head, jolting me awake.

“Don’t think you can escape me so easily, Sylvia. We aren’t done yet.”