Carnage in the Castle

Chapter 5

That night, I toss and turn, but when sleep does find me for a few minutes at a time, I dream of the castle erupting into blue flame.

The most disturbing dream, however, is the one where the Lycan King sits on a throne, and I kneel by his side, collared and leashed.

After that, I don't fall asleep again.

Instead, I stare at the red walls, and pretend it was painted with the blood of the Lycan King, which I will admit, brings me slight comfort.

Without any windows, I can't tell how much time has gone by, but eventually, there's a knock on the door.

I don't bother responding, and sure enough, the person enters anyways.

To my surprise, it isn't the Lycan King, but the human girl that I took as a hostage and threatened to kill yesterday.

"If you're looking for an apology, you won't get one," I tell her coldly, even though it probably violates a term in the agreement we came to yesterday. 

She nervously tucks her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and looks down, but I can still see the slash on her neck that my claw left. "I'm your lady in waiting," she says timidly. "King Nikolai sent me to help you get ready for your lessons today."

My eye twitches in irritation, and it takes all my willpower not to scowl at her.

"He told me that if you seemed nervous about lessons, to remind you that he looks forward to meeting your family," she sighs dreamily. "That's so sweet."

I bite my tongue so hard, blood fills my mouth. Of course, the human girl had no way of knowing that it wasn't a romantic comment, it was a threat, a reminder to remember the deal.

"Yes, my mate is the sweetest," I say through my teeth, but if the human girl notices, she doesn't say anything about it.

She facepalms. "Crap, I went about this all wrong," she mutters, and straightens her spine before curtseying. "My name is Camilla," she says, still holding the sides of her plain, blue dress. "It is an honor to be your lady in waiting, Your Highness."

I gag at that title internally, but plaster a sickening smile to my face.

"We should get you ready," Camilla says, looking at her watch nervously. "King Nikolai hates tardiness."

"Lead the way," I say through my teeth, and get out of bed, all while picturing the Lycan King's head rolling across the floor of his castle. 

****

After a scorching hot bath, Camilla begins to comb my hair.

"What happens during these lessons anyways?" I ask. May as well know what I'm getting myself into and try to prepare for it.

"Oh, just normal royalty lessons," Camilla says distractedly. "How to speak, which fork to use, that kind of thing."

"Like I'm a pup all over again," I mutter in disgust.

Camilla doesn't seem to notice the bitterness behind my comment, and takes it as a joke and laughs as she weaves my hair into an intricate braid.

"It's not so bad," she says finally. "Lady Doris can be a bit... tense, but she'll probably be a bit more patient with you. Y'know, since you could have her beheaded at any moment."

Yeah, right. The Lycan King would undoubtedly keep someone I disliked around me more, knowing I couldn't do anything about it.

"Will the L-" I swallow, catching myself. "King Nikolai be there?" I try making the question seem light, casual, and not like my life depends on it. Which it technically does.