All Chapters of VERONICA NIGHT: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Someone was shaking me.“Get up.”I groaned and pulled the thin piece of cloth over my head, hoping whoever it was would leave me alone.“Did you not hear me?”A hand grabbed my shoulder and shook me harder.I opened my eyes.Four women stood outside my cell, their faces illuminated by the torchlight in the corridor. For a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was. Then I saw the stone walls, the straw beneath me, and the rats disappearing into the cracks.The castle.The dungeon.My stomach twistedThe red haired rolled her eyes .I recognised her from the previous day. She had been among the women who watched while the others scrubbed my skin raw.Her name was Reign, I remembered hearing someone call her.She looked down at me with open irritation.“Get up. The prince has summoned us.”Us?I pushed myself into a sitting position, but the movement made my head spin. I hadn’t eaten anything since the bread and milk they had given me at the feast. After spending the entire day cleaning, I had

I was still trying to understand what had just happened when the prince left the bathing room.One moment, I had been struggling to stay on my feet, and the next, I was in his arms. I could still feel the firm grip he had on my waist when he caught me, and I hated that my body had chosen that moment to betray me.I hated being a fucking Damsel in distress .“Come on,” Claudia snapped, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You heard the prince. You’re getting fed.”I didn’t argue. I was too hungry to waste energy fighting with her. But I hated feeling like an actual pet.Anaya followed us out of the bathing room, carrying the towels the maidens had used. She gave me a sympathetic look as we walked through the corridor, but she didn’t speak. I wondered whether she was afraid of Claudia or simply knew better than to get involved in other people’s problems.The castle was quieter at this hour. Most of the doors we passed were closed, and the only sounds came from our footsteps and the occasional

By the time I returned to the prince’s quarters the following morning, I had already decided to keep my hands to myself.The pocket watch had taught me that lesson well enough.I spent the first part of the morning cleaning the study, dusting the shelves and carefully working around the books Vladimir had left on his desk. He wasn’t there, which made the work easier. I didn’t have to worry about him watching me or making one of his irritating comments whenever I made a mistake.I was finishing the last shelf when a guard appeared at the door.“You. Come with me.”I turned, cloth still in hand. “Where?”“The receiving room. Guests are arriving, and you’ll be serving them.”I put the cloth away and followed him.We took a different route from the one I had used the previous day, passing through a long corridor lined with dark paintings and narrow windows. The farther we went, the more elaborate the castle became. Carved pillars stood on either side of a grand staircase, and silver lamps

I didn’t really sleep much that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered Vladimir’s cold fingers beneath my chin and the strange way my body had obeyed him. I had been angry enough to scream, yet the moment he told me to breathe, I had done exactly that.I didn’t understand what he had done to me, and I hated that I couldn’t explain it.By morning, I had decided to stay out of his way.I had to be careful.Emma was still waiting for me, and I wasn’t going to die in this castle because I couldn’t control my temper.I spent most of the morning working in the prince’s quarters. Vladimir was nowhere to be seen, and I was grateful for it. I cleaned the study, arranged the supplies, and left the books exactly where I had found them.By the time I finished, my arms were aching.A guard escorted me back to the servants’ corridor, where I was told to wait until someone needed me again. I sat on a wooden bench near the wall, trying to ignore the ache in my feet.Then a bell rang.It was l

I was sent back to my dungeon after the attack, with two guards escorting me as if I were the prisoner who had caused all the trouble.Neither of them spoke to me. They only exchanged a few words when we reached the lower level, then one of them unlocked my cell and ordered me inside.“Stay where you belong this time.”I gave him a look but said nothing. There was no point arguing with someone who could probably snap my neck before I finished my first sentence.The door slammed shut behind me, and I was alone again.I had started getting used to the stench in my little space. It still turned my stomach sometimes, especially when the rats came too close, but I no longer spent every minute wishing I could escape it. The darkness had become familiar, and I knew which parts of the floor were damp and where I could sit without feeling something crawling beneath me.It was a horrible place to live, but at least nobody bothered me here.And that gave me time to think.Thinking was all I could