Black Keys (The Colorblind Trilogy #1) - Rose B. Mashal Page 0,25

so weak and venerable.

But who was I kidding? I didn’t only look weak and venerable, I actually was. I was completely alone, in this room, with this perfect stranger. I was supposed to be his wife; I was his wife. He could kill me or worse, he could rape me, and I wouldn’t be able to stop him. I might say ‘no’, I might scream, might fight, but I’d always lose. He was built, taller, and much stronger than me; I had no chance against him.

I heard the prince as he cleared his throat. I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, removing the sign of my misery. “You should eat something, you haven’t eaten since yesterday,” he said. “There are lots of food in here, and I think you might like it.” He pointed to the big, round tray that Mona had left a few moments ago on the table that was in the middle of the room beside the vase.

It was only when he said that that I noticed I was actually famished. I offered him a small smile but didn’t make any move, only bit my lip and looked around the room nervously. It felt awkward to be eating with him for some reason. I mean, wouldn’t it be so weird to just eat together like that without talking? I wouldn’t know what to talk with him about. I didn’t want to make small talk with him, anyway.

“Uh, would you like to eat in the sunroom?” he asked.

“Sunroom?” I asked in confusion. “I can leave the room today?” Hope wrapped my voice.

“Uh, technically you wouldn’t leave the room if you went to the sunroom,” he told me.

“But, there is no sunroom here!”

He frowned. “Yes, there is. Hasn’t your brother shown you aroun-” He stopped mid-sentence, then looked down and shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. “Of course, he hasn’t.”

No. He was too busy pointing a gun to my head, I thought sadly.

“Come,” he motioned for me to follow him as he walked toward the huge mirror that was next to the bed. I stood beside him and waited for whatever he wanted to show me in that mirror. I only saw our reflections.

“Uh...” Before I could say anything, the prince flipped a button that was on the wall beside the mirror, which made the line in the middle of it spread open to reveal a big room behind it.

I stepped inside unconsciously, noticing that it was a freakishly huge, enclosed sunroom.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. The room was a wide space. There was a nice table in the corner with two chairs, on the other side there was a set with a wrought iron couch and two armchairs, and at the far end, there was an elegant swing that looked so very comfortable that–for a moment–I imagined myself sitting there and having a good read.

“This is beautiful,” I said to no one, admiring the plants and roses that surrounded the place. The sunroom had windows all over it, floor to ceiling. It was brightly lit, the soft sunlight was making it even more beautiful, if that was possible. It was such a sight.

“Yes, it is,” the prince said, getting my attention back to him and making me realize that I wasn’t alone. “It’s my favorite spot in the whole palace.”

Oh!

“Was that your room before, uh-…” The thought crossed my mind, and I had to ask.

He smiled lightly. “No,” was how he started his respond. “This is new to me, too.”

I nodded, then gazed out of one of the windows after I took a few steps forward.

“I’ll go call Mona to bring breakfast in here,” he said before leaving.

Out of the windows, the view was as gorgeous as the inside of the place I was standing in. I could see a very large garden that I supposed surrounded the palace. There was a road that led to a huge gate at the end, but it seemed like quite a long walk to get there.

I sighed.

I had no idea how I was going to get out of here, but I wasn’t going to back down without even trying. Soon, I should try, once I get the chance.

“The food is getting cold.” The prince’s voice brought me once again from my thought-clouded mind. I didn’t even realize that Mona had already placed the tray on the table and left, or even that he was back and waiting.

“Yeah,” I said and made my way to the table. Everything