the floor with magic, giving me enough time to flee.
“I will find you,” he called out huskily. “And you will be mine.”
The more distance I put between us, the greater my fury grew, not daring to stop until I was back in my room and safe—but what could one consider safe from a prince in his own castle? Crossing to the door that adjoined our rooms, I pushed a heavy chair over to it, just in case a drunken Xander entered and preemptively murdered me in my sleep.
Murder, or something else?
My heart thudded in my chest, my mind reeling from the trail of kisses he left on my neck and the desire he had lit within me. I wasn’t sure if I should pray that he never come near me again or if he could finish what he started. I had never been kissed, and unfortunately that drunken one was probably the closest I would ever come.
For in the light of day, there would be no hiding who I was. Once he realized it, he would avoid me until I died… or I murdered him.
Chapter Three
Seek
Chase
Kill
* * *
I held back the silent scream of horror, my body paralyzed. Unable to breathe or move, I lay in bed as the night terror took over. Blood! There was so much blood. Tears pooled in my eyes painfully, but I couldn’t blink, my fear having taken hold of my body so.
They had come back. The dreams. The visions. They had returned with a vengeance, and I struggled to not choke on the taste of iron in my mouth. An illusion or consequence of my gift, as I knew without any doubt that death had come. Not mine, for I never dreamed of me, but someone near me, close by in proximity, and their death was brutal. Never had I tapped into a killer’s mind with such clarity, and what I had found filled me with terror.
When the episode passed and I regained control of my muscles, I sat up in bed and pushed the cover off my shaking and sweat-covered body. Slipping out of the bed, I moved to the window and looked out into the night, searching for the source of my nightmare. No other ominous feelings came, and I breathed easier. Maybe my dream was brought on by the stress of traveling, the wedding, and my very odd day, nothing more?
That’s a lie.
I knew sleep would come no more until morning, so I sat in my chair by the fireplace and retreated deep into my mind.
When the morning rays filtered through the curtains and across my face, my nightmare seemed so far away, nothing more than a nightmare. A bad dream.
Instead, I faced a different nightmare as my eye-opening realization hit me.
The prince cheated on me on our wedding day—with me!
I sat in front of my mirror, fuming at what had transpired the night before. How dare Prince Xander seek the attention of another woman after we had taken our vows? He immediately promised that he wouldn’t ever love me or be faithful, but to see it firsthand sent my blood pressure through the roof.
When I was angry, my sisters said I turned into the ice queen, my fire hidden behind my frozen expression. No one would know what I was thinking. I would go on and play the part they had assigned me to play.
Witch.
I roughly ran my brush through my hair as I glanced to the adjoining room door and the chair that hadn’t budged.
Old hag.
I wasn’t old. Barely twenty-two winters, and the prince looked about the same, maybe a little older. Maybe by kingdoms’ standards, I was considered an old maid, but not to the fey. Still, I searched my face for telltale wrinkles and was pleased to see my face was flawless.
My eyes strayed to the door again.
He hadn’t come. Mixed feelings of relief and regret plagued me, and I pursed my lips in irritation. The day after my wedding and I was still as pure as snow.
Slamming the brush onto the dressing table, I turned to the door and wished I could bore holes into it with my anger and frustration.
Not only were they starving me, but no servants had even come to attend me this morning. At home, our family had a brownie who helped tend the house at night and keep the fireplace stoked. A cranky hob lived in our garden and took care of the animals and plants. I had yet to see