Chapter Forty

   The sounds of birds chirping slowly stirred Esper awake. She opened her eyes and quickly shut them. The bright sunlight was jarring and caused her head to throb. Mustering up some strength, Esper pushed herself upright and opened her lids once more. She blinked a couple of times and took in her surroundings as she adjusted to the light. 

   The young woman was sitting on a California king bed with forest green linens. The bed was in the center of an open-air room made of white stone. Instead of windows and walls, white marble columns gave view to the vibrant green forest. Where most rooms closed off nature, this one invited it to come inside. 

   The sight of the outdoors filled the young woman’s heart with hope. Maxim must have been dumber than he looked if he thought it was a good idea to put her in a room with no walls. She would be out of his clutch in no time. Crawling to the edge of the