Lorelei POV

Skye sat perfectly still, her mouth slightly open as she processed my words. The shock from earlier was nothing compared to the confusion written all over her face now.

"Lorelei..." she whispered my name like she was trying it out for the first time before her eyes shot back up to mine. "Wait. If your real name is Lorelei, then why were you using a fake name?"

"I didn’t choose to," I replied quietly, lowering my gaze to my hands. "Mr. Hawke gave it to me along with a fake backstory about being from some small village. But the truth is... I was kidnapped by rogues and sold to him."

"What?" Skye’s eyes widened even more as she shook her head. "No. That’s not right."

"What do you mean?" I asked, more confused by her reaction than anything else.

"I mean, we’re all criminals in here," Skye explained, lowering her voice to an intense whisper. "That’s why we’re treated so poorly. Every female maid and every worker in the lower levels is either serving a sentence or paying off a debt to the empire. This place is supposed to be punishment." Her brows pulled together as she stared at me. "But if you were sold..."

"Then why am I here?" I finished.

It was a question neither of us could answer.

The realization settled over the room like a heavy weight as we simply stared at each other in silence. The servant quarters suddenly felt a lot darker than they had only a few minutes ago, and the walls that had once seemed ordinary now felt like they were hiding something far more sinister.

After several long moments, Skye finally spoke again, her eyes hardening with sudden determination.

"If you were really kidnapped and sold here..."

"I was," I cut in quietly as flashes of the car crash and those rough hands forcing me away flooded my mind all over again.

"You were," Skye corrected herself with a nod. "Then since you’re already close to the Alpha in some way, you need to report this to him. Alpha Kaelen might be ruthless, but he doesn’t tolerate human trafficking or illegal slave trading within his territory. He would tear Hawke’s entire operation apart in a heartbeat."

That made me pause, the thought freezing the blood in my veins as I slowly looked up at her, a terrifying doubt taking root in my chest.

"What if he’s involved in this too?" I asked quietly.

"What? No," Skye stammered, clearly caught off guard.

"How can you be so sure?" I pressed, trying my best to stay logical despite everything. "The Alpha King is one of the most powerful men in the empire. If he wanted to get away with something, who could possibly stop him?"

From my own experience, powerful men were never purely good. Power always came with blood on its hands and secrets buried where nobody could find them.

Even Jaxen had told me that countless times.

"And just because I slept with him doesn’t mean we’re close," I added, correcting her sharply.

Skye let out a heavy sigh before falling silent, her worried eyes staying fixed on me for several long seconds.

"Then what do you want to do?" she finally asked.

"I still want to escape," I admitted honestly.

That desire had never gone away. If anything, it had only grown stronger. More than anything else, I wanted to be free. I wanted to find Raven and be reunited with her.

"Ella... I mean, Lorelei..."

"It’s better if you still call me Ella," I interrupted softly. "The less that name is said out loud, the safer we’ll both be."

She sighed again before reaching over and gently squeezing my hand.

"You are a victim here," she said quietly. "If you try to escape and get caught, things will only become worse for you. But you’re also right. You can’t trust anyone yet. So if you want my advice, stay where you are for now and get used to this place before making any decisions."

I nodded slowly.

At the very least, that was something I could do much more easily now that I no longer had to worry about the brutal workload of an ordinary maid.

Kaelen’s strange obsession with me had unintentionally become a shield, protecting me from the worst parts of this place, even if it meant walking straight into the mouth of the beast every single time he called for me.

And if I was being completely honest with myself... it wasn’t as though he was the only one who enjoyed it.

The thought made heat rush into my face, and I quickly pressed my palms against my burning cheeks, hoping to cool them down.

It didn’t work.

Because no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.

I liked the sex. I liked the way his hand wrapped around my thigh, and I liked how my own body betrayed me the second he touched me.

As strange as it sounded, maybe for now we could simply use each other.

****

The sun had barely started to set when a few guards approached me while I was helping Skye finish up her evening chores. One of them, the same one who had dragged me to that cell, lowered his gaze slightly before speaking.

"Your room is ready," he said. "Please follow me."

Skye, who was standing nearby, gave me a knowing look.

"Go," she mouthed. "I can finish up here." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Reluctantly, I followed the guards.

They led me through corridors I had only caught brief glimpses of before, with wider hallways, softer lighting, and the faint scent of polished wood and fresh flowers lingering in the air.

When we finally stopped in front of a door, one of the guards unlocked it and stepped aside.

I walked inside, and a soft gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it.

The room wasn’t grand, at least not compared to Kaelen’s chambers, but it was still better than anything I could have imagined.

A real bed sat in the center, dressed in soft cream-colored linens and piled high with plush pillows.

A polished wooden wardrobe stood against one wall, its warm surface gleaming in the fading light. A small desk rested beside the window, overlooking the estate gardens.

The window itself was large enough to let in the last golden rays of the setting sun.

And tucked away in one corner was a private bathroom.

With an actual door.

And what looked like a real bathtub.

I had my own bathroom.

"If you need anything, please let me know," the guard said from the doorway.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

The door clicked shut behind him.

The moment I was alone, I walked over to the bed and carefully sat down. The mattress dipped softly beneath my weight, and I bounced once just to feel it before letting myself fall backward onto the pillows with a contented sigh.

"This is the life," I whispered to the ceiling.

No more cold stone floors.

No more thin pallet.

No more sharing a bathroom with twenty other women.

For the first time in weeks, I felt something that came dangerously close to comfort.

I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy it.

Tomorrow, I would worry about everything else.

But tonight, I was going to sleep in a real bed.

And for now, that was enough.