Istare out the window, feeling more lost than ever as I lean back against the windowsill, the room as eerily quiet as it has been since Felix left me here. The palace is warm, but it looks bleak, cold and dark outside, the scenery a perfect replica of my feelings. The small areas that are illuminated by torches show that there’s nothing but snow and ice out there. Even if I wanted to, I doubt I could find my way home. Is this what the rest of my days will look like? Will I die here, trapped in a prison of ice? If I tried to run, where would I even go? Even if I could survive the journey, there’s no way I could get into Althea undetected, and my chances of freeing Nathaniel are slim to none. Besides, I suspect that Felix would hunt me down.It’s hard to say how long I’ve been here, since the sun never rose as I’d expected it to, but it feels like I’ve slept two full nights. Both times, I woke to the smell of a warm meal and a freshly drawn lavender-scented bath, but I have yet to see any attendants. Thankfully, I haven’t seen my husband, either.I sigh softly as I rise to my feet, my gaze roaming over the room. The many artifacts and clothes indicate this is Felix’s bedroom, so it doesn’t appear as though this is a glorified prison cell assigned especially to me, but even so, I don’t dare leave.Exhaustion washes over me, my eyelids becoming heavier as I move to stand in front of the fireplace. The darkness feels unnatural, and I can’t help but wish for the sun to rise soon, even if it’s just so I can see farther away and check out my surroundings.I’m snapped out of my thoughts when magic shimmers gold in front of me for a few moments and then a cup and a teapot appear, hovering in midair. I watch as tea is poured into the cup, my hand pressed against my chest. I’m frozen in place as the teacup tilts from left to right, almost as though telling me to take it.I glance around the room, but there’s no one here who could have done this. My hands shake as I grab the cup for fear it’ll fall, the familiar smell of lavender washing over me. I don’t dare drink it lest it be poisoned, but the cup flies out of my hands, pressing against my lips softly, insisting that I take a sip. It pauses its movements when a knock sounds, and I turn toward the door nervously as it swings open. Elaine steps into the room, still in the same riding outfit she was in when we departed Althea. She must have just arrived.She hesitates when she sees the teacup and the pot hovering in midair, her eyes wide. “It appears the palace has taken a liking to you,” she says, her voice filled with a sense of wonder. “Fear not—it’s harmless. The palace provides for the emperor and many, though not all, of the palace’s other inhabitants, often arranging food and drinks as it pleases. When the palace wants to feed you, it’s almost impossible to say no. I was informed that our attendants were not able to get to your room—it’s rare, but occasionally the palace becomes overly protective. Apparently, it aimed to ensure all threats are kept away while providing for you itself.”My stomach tightens at the implication. That explains why I haven’t seen any attendants. Because there never were any. The food I’ve eaten… they were my favorite meals, and I never even questioned it.“The emperor sent me over to extend his apologies for his absence,” Elaine explains, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Just before we left Althea, an avalanche buried one of our cities and cut off an important trade route. Our soldiers were deployed immediately, but the second he heard about it, the emperor set off to personally help. He should be back in a matter of days, weather permitting.”Panic takes root deep inside my stomach, and I take a calming breath. An avalanche? “Are there any survivors?” I ask, my voice trembling. I can’t help but feel like this is my fault—it’s my curse, my misfortune. If what Elaine is saying is true, that avalanche must have happened the moment the Shadow Emperor married me, and if he finds out I’m to blame, he’ll kill me to protect his people.“Please do not worry, Your Excellency,” Elaine says, a kind smile on her face. “Considering much of Eldiria’s terrain, our people are always prepared for the worst. The emperor has gifted those who live in areas at risk with magic crystals that our sorcerers have embedded protection spells in. So no one has been killed, but they’re trapped, and no one is able to get them out quicker than the emperor. He’ll return soon, victorious.”She steps back and nods toward the door. “While we await his safe return, I wondered if you might like a tour of the palace,” she adds, a hesitant smile on her face. “I sincerely apologize for not having been here to help you familiarize yourself with your new home, Empress. I’ve failed you by not traveling faster when I realized the emperor had left you here alone.”Did she come straight here when she returned? “It can wait,” I tell her, my voice soft, but she shakes her head and gestures toward the door, a determined look in her eyes. It’s clear she means well, but all I can think of when I see her is that if not for her, Nathaniel and I might have escaped. I’m certain it was her voice I heard. “Very well. I would love a tour,” I say hesitantly, pasting on the smile I reserve for members of my father’s court.Elaine nods, a hint of relief in her eyes as she steps aside and stands by the door. I take a deep breath as I walk over to her, wishing I could retaliate against her for what she did to Nathaniel and me. I wish I could make her feel even a hint of the torment she has brought me. Instead, I smile at her as she leads me down the long corridor toward the grand staircase.“This entire floor is the emperor’s, and now yours, too. I’m one floor below you.” Candles on the wall flicker on as we walk toward them, and I jump in surprise. I rest my hand on my chest and stare at one of the candles, taking in the slight buzzing of magic around it.“Ah,” Elaine murmurs. “The entire palace is enchanted. It has been for over two hundred years, ever since the day Theon’s mother passed away.”“Two hundred years?” I repeat softly. “How old is the emperor?”Elaine smiles and tilts her head toward the staircase. “I suppose he looks as though he’s around thirty years of age, and to me he is. In reality, he’s just over two hundred years old. Time moves differently in the palace. I’ve been here for just over a decade now, but it is as though only two years have passed.” How is that possible? Is that why she looks so young, and why I’ve been reading about her for a decade when it appears she hasn’t aged at all from the first time she was mentioned alongside Felix?Elaine bites down on her lip as though she’s misspoken and rushes down the stairs. “This is the audience room. It’s where you’ll usually find your husband, and where he receives correspondents and holds meetings. It’s the only room in the palace accessible to anyone who does not live here. If they attempt to roam the palace, they’ll find themselves going around in circles, always ending up in this room.”“Is that the case for me, too? Are there places I physically cannot go because of an enchantment?”She looks surprised at my question, and then she shakes her head. “No, Your Excellency. No such restrictions were placed upon you. Nothing is inaccessible to you, but I would recommend that you stay away from the east wing. It’s in desperate need of repairs, and it would be hazardous for you to enter.”I nod and follow along, taking note of the different rooms in the palace, the way doors open and close by themselves. Everything in this palace is so far from everything I’ve ever known that it leaves me feeling disoriented. I’ve always been taught to fear magic, yet here it is used without reservation.“The imperial kitchen,” Elaine says, pausing in yet another doorway. “This kitchen is used exclusively for members of the court.” I look into the room to find plates washing themselves and a broom moving around, the entire room buzzing with magic. “The palace provides anything the emperor and his inner circle might need, while the staff primarily focuses on the soldiers and craftsmen who live on palace grounds. We’re uncertain what the root of the magic is, but we are grateful for it.”We pause by two large dark mahogany doors, delicately carved with florals that almost seem real. “I suspect you might like this room,” Elaine says just as the doors swing open.I gasp as we walk into the largest library I have ever seen, my broken heart finding some relief at the sight of the thousands of books surrounding me. Thousands of tales I could lose myself in to escape the reality I’m forced to face. I smile as I run my fingers over the leather-bound spines, each of them well cared for and many of them ancient.“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile,” Elaine says, her voice soft.I turn toward her, startled. I suppose she’s right. I’ve had no reason to smile since she and Felix walked into my life.“Our emperor is rough around the edges, but he’s a good ruler, and his heart is in the right place,” she says, a pleading look in her eyes.I stare at her, wondering how she could possibly believe that. There can be no goodness in a man like him. A good man would not conquer half the world, and what for? To please his ego? To satiate his boredom?“Felix… can he read my mind?”Elaine’s eyes widen and her lips tilt up at the edges, revealing a small smile that transforms her face. She’s a beautiful woman, but even a hint of a smile makes her look ethereal.“Felix?” she repeats, smiling. “No one calls him that.”I pause, my hand still on one of the books on the shelves that I was about to pull out. He gave me a part of himself that no one else has? Why?“No, he cannot read your mind, Your Excellency. He’s just good at reading people.”I pull away from the bookcase and turn to face her. “Do you know why he married me?”noveldramaShe inhales deeply and looks away. “He was hoping to tell you this himself, but considering the circumstances, I hope he won’t mind if I tell you some of what I know. You deserve the truth.”I nod, fear running down my spine. I suspected there was a reason behind his decision to marry me when he could’ve had Serena, and I have this sinking feeling that whatever Elaine is about to say will only make my already dreadful circumstances worse.“You were shown to us in a prophecy, Your Excellency. You are meant to break a curse that Eldiria has been under for two hundred years. You’re meant to set Eldiria free.”I try my best to keep the utter horror her words instill from showing. They must not know that I’m cursed myself, and that bringing me here is likely to increase the misfortune they must already be facing. If they find out I can’t even save myself, let alone an entire empire, my life is forfeit.“The emperor was cursed to live his life in the shadows, taking his kingdom with him,” Elaine continues. “He once told me that Eldiria used to be a beautiful place, filled with rolling green hills, but by the time the emperor celebrated his twentieth birthday, winter had come and never left, and the sun disappeared forever. All of Eldiria’s crops started to die, and there currently are no fertile grounds left in our empire. We constantly battle to keep our people fed. Our rivers have run dry, and the forest closes us in, making trade near impossible. It’s not possible to hack our way through it, either, because each morning the trees are back where they were. As if that weren’t enough… the people are becoming infertile, too. There hasn’t been a single child in a decade. We’re an empire at the brink of extinction.”I stare at her in disbelief. How is this unknown to the rest of the world? This must be why he keeps conquering different parts of the world. If trade is made too difficult by the forests, he must enforce that trade. How did I know nothing of this? Throughout the years, I’ve read every piece of literature I could find on curses and magic, but none ever mentioned the Shadow Emperor’s curse. Almost as though she can see the question written all over my face, Elaine smiles knowingly. “The curse cannot be spoken of to people who are unaware of it, unless they are within the palace’s walls. I have tried my very best to pinpoint the cause of this, and the most I can find is an energy signature similar to the one in the palace.”“How did it happen?” I ask. Who could possibly be powerful enough to cast a curse that lasts centuries?“This is as much as I can tell you,” Elaine says, regret in her eyes. “I must leave your questions for the emperor to answer. I apologize, Your Excellency.”She hesitates and looks down at her feet. When she looks up at me again, her eyes are filled with genuine remorse. “Not just for not being able to provide you with the information you seek, but also for stopping you in the caves. I have no acceptable excuse, Your Excellency. I did it out of hope for my people, out of desperation… but I understand more than anyone what it means to give up someone you love.”My expression hardens, and I look away. I won’t give her my forgiveness. “You did what was expected of you,” I say instead.Elaine nods, both of us quiet as she walks me back to Felix’s floor. My mind is in turmoil as I try to process everything I just learned. The Shadow Emperor thinks I’m someone capable of breaking a curse, and that is exactly the role I’ll have to play if I want to stay alive. I’ll have to pretend to be stronger than I am, braver than I’ve ever been before. If I am to survive, I must pretend I’m capable of what they expect of me.