Page 62 of Broken Princess
14
Willow
I was floatingup in the night air, right on top of a fluffy cloud. Somehow I’d fallen out of the plane. Even though I expected everything to be cold and terrifying, I felt warm and safe. Happy to rest on my big, soft cloud.
My eyes snapped open all of a sudden, and my lashes fluttered wildly as I took in my surroundings. The fluffy cloud was actually an enormous bed with heavenly-soft sheets and blankets, and the warm air I felt was piping out at me from a heating vent in the ceiling. A crystal chandelier hung directly above my head, and on my left, light streamed through the cracks in a set of crimson curtains with gold threading.
This had to be my room at the Keshari palace.
I frowned and sat up, rubbing my head as I struggled to recall how I got here. The last thing I remembered was briefly nodding off on the plane again before waking up to the stinging sensation of yet another needle being jammed in my neck. I didn’t see who did it, but I could only assume it was the prince or one of his lackeys.
After that, everything was a blank.
I stretched my aching limbs and got up to take a better look around the room. The place looked like it belonged in a magazine with its antique furniture, wood-paneled walls, carved moldings and rich decoration. Tall shelves lined one wall, stacked with books of all genres, and a hardwood door with a golden handle led into a spacious bathroom with textured black marble tiles.
I’d initially assumed the prince would throw me in some sort of dungeon the second we arrived on Keshari soil, so these luxurious surroundings came as a great surprise to me. Perhaps he didn’t intend to treat me too badly after all.
Don’t be delusional,a little voice in the back of my mind immediately told me. The man paid almost a hundred million dollars for me, purely because I was the American president’s daughter. He wanted to destroy me, and he wasn’t going to show me an ounce of kindness. This beautiful suite was probably just a temporary measure until my dungeon in the depths of the desert palace was ready.
A sob threatened to rip through me, but I managed to tamp it down. There was no use crying now. What was done was done. I was a captive and I would remain that way for the rest of my life, however short that may be.
My shoulders sagged, and I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I ran my hands over the pink and white floral-patterned dress I’d woken up in. A design like this would usually make a woman look younger, but I looked older instead. It was probably the haunted look in my eyes that did it; the knowledge of what had already been done to me and what would be done to me in the future.
Swallowing thickly, I returned to the bedroom and headed for the floor-to-ceiling window. The curtains drew back easily enough, and there were no bars or locks preventing me from opening the window up to the balcony beyond. That was surprising, but nowhere near as shocking as the view.
I expected to see clear blue skies, a courtyard filled with palm trees, the white walls and domed roofing of the Keshari palace, and rolling yellow sand dunes in the distance. Instead, the sky was gray and blustery, and all that lay beyond the balcony was a small grove of pine trees and a snow-flecked stretch of grass and dirt leading to the edge of what was either the ocean or an enormous lake.
“What the hell?” I muttered, brows knitting as I took in the view.
“Do you like it?”
I whirled around at the sound of the voice, and my eyes widened as I spotted Jamie Torrance standing by the door on the other side of the room.
“What’s happening?” I asked, shrinking away as he approached. “Where’s the prince?”
Jamie smiled. “He ended up leaving with another girl.”
“What?” I slowly shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. He paid so much for me. Why would he leave me behind?”
“Let’s just say I have my ways of convincing people.”
He was only a few feet away from me now. I ducked around him and ran back to the bed, as if the thick blankets and pillows could actually protect me. He let out a throaty chuckle and followed me.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said, taking a seat on the end of the bed. “Do you like your new room?”
“No.”
“Why not?” he asked, lifting a brow. “I thought you’d love it. Nice decorations, plenty of books, waterfront views… what’s the problem?”
I folded my arms. “The problem is that I don’t belong here with you,” I hissed.
“So you’d rather be with the prince?”
“No! I want to go home.”
Jamie let out a short, frustrated sigh. “We both know that’s never going to happen, so you might as well get used to this place.”
“Where are we?”
