Chapter 1

People all said I was Prince Rolf's favorite person in the world.

He had saved me from the mountains after I got hit by an arrow. He had brought me rare treasures and even planted a whole garden of flowers just for me. He had told me he would marry me when the apple blossoms bloomed.

I truly believed I mattered more to him than anyone else.

Then that female general showed up. She had dragged me with a whip, forced me to cut my own wrists, and told me that I was nothing but a toy.

The man who had sworn to protect me for life had held the bowl himself and watched my blood drip into it.

He had said, "It is just a bowl of blood. It won't hurt you."

That was when I realized I had never been his favorite at all.

Later, he had knelt outside my door and begged me to forgive him. He had talked about his reasons and how much he truly cared about me.

But by then, I had already remembered the truth.

He had been the one who shot that arrow at me.

*****

There was a sudden noise at the door. My heart jumped, and a rush of excitement filled my chest before I could stop it. I knew it had to be Rolf Marrow.

When he left that morning, he had said he was going to the palace to see the King. He had promised he would be back before dinner to keep me company.

I had been counting the hours all day. Now the sun was starting to set, so it had to be him.

Without thinking, I grabbed my skirt and ran outside.

But when I reached the gate, I froze.

The person who always made me feel safe was not there.

Instead, a fierce-looking army was waiting outside.

At the front was a female general. She sat tall on her horse in silver armor, with rows of soldiers lined up behind her.

I stopped short and turned to run back.

"Stop." Jillian Menzie's voice was calm, but it carried weight. It was the kind of voice that people listened to on a battlefield.

I froze in place.

She nudged her horse forward and looked down at me, slowly taking me in from head to toe.

Her gaze finally stopped on my face, and the hatred in her eyes was clear.

"Are you Prince Rolf's wife?" she asked.

I looked at her and shook my head.

"Then his lover?" she asked.

I shook my head again.

Her expression softened, as if the look she'd given me just moments ago—the one that made me think she might kill me—had only been my imagination.

But I clearly saw her grip on the whip loosen.

She let out a short laugh and looked me over again. "You are dressed in gold and silver, so you are not a maid. What are you? A singer? A dancer? Did you trick Prince Rolf into spending all that money on you?"

The soldiers behind her burst out laughing.

"I heard Prince Rolf was not interested in women. Looks like he just has a taste for the pretty ones."

"Pretty? Look at her. She is shaking. I bet she can't even hold a knife. She's probably only good in bed."

"Keep it down. Don't scare her."

I didn't fully understand what they meant, but the way they spoke made my ears burn with shame.

Jillian laughed along with them, clearly enjoying it.

Anger rose in my chest, and my face grew hot.

I spoke up, trying to defend myself. "I'm not a singer or a dancer. Rolf said I have a say here."

The laughter stopped right away. Every face turned cold.

Jillian's smile froze, then slowly darkened into something frightening.

She narrowed her eyes. "Rolf? Have a say here?"

She swung down from her horse. Her boots hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The cold tip of her whip lifted my chin, forcing me to look up.

There was a sharp, rusty smell coming from it. It smelled like blood.

"What makes you think you have any say here?" she sneered.

I stepped back, trying to get away from the whip, then turned and ran.

But before I could get far, something tightened around my ankle. The whip wrapped around my ankle as if it were alive.

I was caught off guard and fell hard to the ground. My chin slammed against the stone, and the skin on my palms tore open. The burning pain hit right away.

Tears rushed to my eyes.

But that wasn't even the worst of it.

Jillian yanked the whip and dragged me toward her horse.

My body scraped across the rough ground. My hairpins fell out, and my hair came loose, quickly covered in dust.

The dress Rolf had made for me just the day before tore against the stones with a sharp ripping sound.

My skin split open, and blood soaked into the fabric.

The people around us laughed.

"General Menzie is incredible!"

"She has such soft skin. This is going to hurt."

Their laughter and shouting filled the air. My cries were swallowed by the noise as if they didn't matter at all.

Pain shot through me.

I tried to grab onto something, anything, but my fingers just slipped across the cold ground.

I wanted to call Rolf's name, but all that came out was broken sobbing.