PAULINE
Sleep didn't come.
I lay flat on my back, staring at the ceiling because there really was nothing better to do at this point. The sheets tangled around my legs. I kicked them off. Then pulled them back up. Then kicked them off again.
Aldric's voice kept replaying in my head. That smooth, condescending tone. The way he'd spoken to me like I was a child who'd gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Don't ever move without my permission again."
Who the fuck did he think he was? I only had Valentine to blame for this.
My fingers curled into the sheets. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something. I wanted to reach through time and space and wrap my hands around his throat until that smug superiority drained out of his eyes.
But I couldn't do any of those things.
I was his piece. His fucking chess piece on a board I didn't even fully understand.
The thought made my stomach turn.
I rolled onto my side and stared at the wall. Time stopped making sense.
