Of Blood and Roses

Chapter 11

When I returned to my chambers, it was to find Sabine standing sullenly in the room, her gaze traversing me from head to foot. I found my feet were unsteadier than usual, my limbs heavy like I was pushing through thick syrup.

Sabine wrinkled her nose as I stepped closer. I collapsed on the chair with a wince, my binding garments digging painfully into my ribs. I was desperate to be free of them.

"You smell like an uncleaned alehouse."

I lifted my shoulders in a heavy shrug. "You would know better than me."

Sabine frowned. "You're drunk."

I rolled my eyes. "Help me out of this dreadful thing," I replied, ignoring her tone. "I feel like I am going to suffocate. Why is it we wear these horrid contraptions?" I stood hastily. My head spun and I plopped back down, one red curl falling in my face.

Sabine arched a brow at me, but made no effort to help. I tried to twist my arms around my back to loosen my laces. I needed them off, now. They were too confining, too restrictive. I always struggled with them. I never quite managed to adjust to wearing bindings like Mother had said I would.

Like my sister could.

Annoyed, I hardened my glare on Sabine. She crossed her arms over her chest. Despite being dressed plainly in the grey and black clothing, she still somehow managed to appear more regal than I currently felt. Like somehow, we had traded places.

I hated her.

"What if I am drunk?" I slurred. "I'm the princess, and no one is here to stop me. So be a good maid and help me or get out."

"Is that a command, Your Highness?"

Her voice was cold and defiant and absolutely infuriating. I was so angry. It boiled in my blood. A soft whisper pressed at my ear, the ghost of a breath at my throat, wrapping its cold hands around me.

"Yes, go. It's best you try to act like a proper maid," I bit back at her, mirroring her tone. "Better servants have lost their heads for fewer transgressions."

Sabine appeared unmoved by my harsh words. She watched me like she would a small dog. All bark no bite. "Petty threats won't get you anywhere, Your Highness."

She used my title in a way that left no illusion of respect. My fingers dug down into my gown. My blood surged.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Blood pounded in my ears. My pulse echoed through my body. All I could hear was the increasing rhythm of my beating heart. Red bled into my vision.

Then it stopped. Everything spun, and my stomach turned. I was going to be sick. I sucked in quick breaths.

Soft fingers appeared under my chin. Sabine kneeled before me. Gone was the cold distant expression from before. She searched my face, her brow furrowing.

"Perhaps you should stay in this evening. We can tell them you are feeling unwell."

I heaved in a deep breath then nodded, shoulders slumping. The hot, furious anger I had felt a moment before had left me all at once, leaving me disoriented. The hatred I had felt for Sabine was gone and replaced with something different. A small coil of fear that pressed at the back of my mind.

Something had happened just now. Something I had never felt before, something I could not explain. A loss of control I had never experienced before. Even though I had left Rosailles, and supposedly the Angels, they still reached me here.

No... not just reached. The force was stronger somehow, the symptoms of my Gift amplified more than they had been in a long time.

"I'm sorry. I am unlike myself today." I turned to look back into the mirror, inspecting my current state, feeling like a veil had been lifted from my eyes. My hair was lopsided, one decorative painted rose hanging down by my ear. I tried to tuck it back into place, but it only fell again. I was a mess. "Perhaps it is best I stay in."