Chapter 10

Seris’s POV

I sat on the edge of the vast bed, my hands folded tightly in my lap, utterly unsure of what to do with myself. Nessa wasn’t with me yet; I’d been told she would arrive with her nanny, but until then I was alone in this strange, opulent chamber. My gaze drifted slowly around the room—cream-painted walls stretched high on either side of me, so different from the cramped, dank quarters I’d known all my life. Against one wall stood a built-in wardrobe whose polished wood gleamed in the dim light, and a little farther along I spotted a door that must lead to the bathroom. The bed beneath me was enormous, its soft covers inviting and unfamiliar. On the opposite side of the room, a delicate dressing table and mirror caught stray beams of light, and overhead, a crystal chandelier swung gently, scattering fractured prisms across the ceiling.

To anyone else, this suite might seem simple—but to me it was fit for a queen, and I was no queen. My thoughts drifted t