로그인Briella had been in the Red Kingdom for three days when she learned that being ignored could be almost as humiliating as being insulted.
The palace had rules for everything.When to wake.Where to walk.Which corridors to avoid.How to address the king.Which servants could enter her rooms.And, apparently, what she was allowed to wear when summoned to a royal gathering."This is ridiculous."Samara stood behindThe creature thrashed.The chains groaned.Briella's tears spilled over."I don't know what you're fighting!"She took another step."But you don't have to fight me!"The corridor became unnaturally quiet.Even the soldiers stopped shouting.Briella looked directly into the red eye.Her voice softened."Look at me."Something inside her seemed to awaken.Not a voice.Not a command she consciously chose.A warmth spread from her chest through her limbs.The air changed.The creature's breathing faltered.Briella felt a strange pressure behind her eyes.For a moment, she could almost sense the enormous darkness inside the beast.It was furious.Starving.Lonely.And frightened.So frightened that it had mistaken everything around it for an enemy.Briella swallowed."I know you're there."The creature shuddered."You're not alone."Ammond stared at her.He had heard the old stories.He had studied the ancient records.But no ritual, no medicine, and no royal command had ever quieted the
The creature thrashed.The chains groaned.Briella's tears spilled over."I don't know what you're fighting!"She took another step."But you don't have to fight me!"The corridor became unnaturally quiet.Even the soldiers stopped shouting.Briella looked directly into the red eye.Her voice softened."Look at me."Something inside her seemed to awaken.Not a voice.Not a command she consciously chose.A warmth spread from her chest through her limbs.The air changed.The creature's breathing faltered.Briella felt a strange pressure behind her eyes.For a moment, she could almost sense the enormous darkness inside the beast.It was furious.Starving.Lonely.And frightened.So frightened that it had mistaken everything around it for an enemy.Briella swallowed."I know you're there."The creature shuddered."You're not alone."Ammond stared at her.He had heard the old stories.He had studied the ancient records.But no ritual, no medicine, and no royal command had ever quieted the
She remembered Laszlo's face in the study.The fear he had tried to hide.Something I have spent centuries keeping contained.Another roar tore through the palace.This time, the sound was followed by the unmistakable crash of breaking stone.Briella pressed both hands over her ears.But the pain in that sound seemed to reach beyond her hearing.It entered her chest.Her throat.Her bones.She had never felt anything like it.And suddenly, she knew.Laszlo was hurting.She didn't know how she knew.She only knew that the pain was real.And that something inside her was answering it."Let me out," she whispered.The guard shook his head."I cannot."Briella looked at him.Her eyes burned."Please."Something changed in her voice.It was barely noticeable.A softness.A strange certainty.The guard's expression faltered.His shoulders lowered.For a brief second, he looked confused.Then he stepped aside.Briella stared at him.He seemed as startled by his own movement as she was."My l
"Yes."Ammond closed his eyes briefly.Laszlo walked around the desk."Did you hear anything?"Briella's stomach tightened."Why?""Did you?"She thought about lying.Then she remembered what she had told him.If there was danger, he should explain it."Yes."The king became very still."What did you hear?""A heartbeat."Silence.Briella looked between the two men."Why are you looking at me like that?"Laszlo turned toward Ammond."Leave us."Ammond did not move immediately."Laszlo—""Now."The advisor studied his friend for a moment before leaving.The door closed.Briella was alone with the king.She stood."What is behind those doors?""Nothing that concerns you.""Then why are you frightened?"His eyes snapped toward hers."I am not frightened.""You're angry.""Because you ignored a direct warning.""You never gave me one!""I have told you repeatedly not to investigate restricted areas.""You told me not to leave the palace without an escort. You told me there were rooms I co
Bernard was surprised and took a moment to blink twice. "I can speak to Laszlo.""And what will you tell him? That he should return his possession to the man who neglected her?"Bernard recoiled."Don't call yourself that.""Why not? That's what everyone calls me.""You're not a possession.""Then why did you surrender me?"His face went white.She had not intended to say it so sharply.But the question had lived inside her since the day he signed the transfer.Bernard stared at her."I thought I was protecting the kingdom.""And yourself."He swallowed."Yes."Briella looked down at her hands.At least she no longer had to wonder whether he understood.He did.And he hated himself for it."I cannot change what I did," Bernard said. "But I can become someone who would never do it again."Briella's throat tightened."Then become that person."He looked at her.She raised her eyes."But don't do it for me."The words struck him silent."Do it because the next woman who trusts you deser
She hated that the insult had hurt her.She hated that Laszlo's intervention had helped.And she hated that the people inside would now tell stories about how the Red King had protected his possession.Because that was what they thought she was.A possession.Not a woman.Not someone who had been married for five years to a man who barely noticed her pain.Not someone who had spent years learning to survive humiliation.Just another thing the Red King had decided to claim.The balcony doors opened behind her.She did not turn."If you've come to tell me I embarrassed you, save your breath."Laszlo stopped several feet away."You didn't embarrass me.""Then why are you here?""Because you left without telling anyone where you were going."She let out a disbelieving laugh."There it is.""What?""The cage."







