Marienne's life was completely undone when her village went up in flames. Badly burned and her eyesight lost, she awakes in a strange place, with no knowledge of how she arrived there. Her savior was the enigmatic and alluring Victor, the Lord of Az...
Author's Note: I'd like to give a brief content warning for this chapter. This is by far the "darkest" chapter I've written for this story so far, so I figured it was due time to warn more sensitive readers, incase it's been awhile since you looked at the content warning at the beginning of the book. But there will be mention of blood and violence, so if either of these things bother you, I recommend proceeding with caution. For those of you that stayed through till the end, make sure to leave your thoughts and comments below!
Author's Note: On 7/27/25, I edited this chapter, to provide some clarity to later chapters in this story. The warnings above remain intact, and there's no major changes to the plot. Keep an eye out for further edits coming out next week!
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It rained shortly before I set out toward the town. The landscape was freshly washed and glistening in the setting sun, and the sky was painted in vibrant hues of orange and vermillion, with bruised purple highlights along the bottoms of lingering clouds. I relaxed in my seat, breathing more easily now that I was alone in the countryside.
My mare danced underneath me, as happy to be out as I was. I let her set her own pace, and she pushed forward briskly. Still, I would not find myself arriving within civilization until the sun was well set. I did not fancy having to linger, waiting for the dark velvet of night to cloak my ambitions, so this suited my intentions perfectly.
We hadn't passed a soul the entire way in, but as the town grew near, candlelight still shone out of several windows, most of them in public buildings and taverns. I fidgeted in my saddle, then turned towards a public stable. It was located conveniently on the outskirts of the city, and the owner and I had long since worked out an arrangement for my horse to be returned to the castle within the next two days any time I brought her here. After tossing a few coins the way of the stableboy to ensure she was groomed and fed correctly, I made my way out onto the streets, my body nearly humming with anticipation.
I propped myself on a wall, in a dark and foreboding back alley. I had no need to venture into the tavern to know eventually some poor fool would find himself back here. There was only the need to wait, even if I couldn't do so patiently.
