I cried, of course. It was impossible not to let my emotions overwhelm me and trying would just have made things worse. So I let the tears have their turn for a while.

Once they were past, I picked myself up and had another look around the room that was my prison. First the doors. There were three of them, including the one into Ashir's bedroom. Which, yes, was locked from the other side. Dragging a chair over I jammed it under the handle, hoping that would keep him from visiting uninvited.

The second led to the bathroom. Nice as it was to have one, it didn't help me now. And the third was the one we'd entered through. I opened it to find a guard waiting outside. No use to me.

The window was next, but there was no way I was escaping through that. Looking down at the dizzying drop, I tried to imagine climbing down and cringed. That was just a way to get myself killed.

Even if I do escape, where would I go? It was a depressing question. If I could steal a flier I could... fly off into the wilds and hope I could find Rohar on my own. Even with the skystalk as an unmissable landmark I doubted I'd manage that, and my previous experience of flying didn't leave me very confident in my ability.

I might be able to stow away on a ship, but that wasn't a great option either. Anyone who docked here would be friends with the Perhar clan, and they'd probably just trade me back if they caught me. Or worse.

Flinging myself down on the bed, I tried to think of some other plan. By the time the servants came to fetch me my mind was going in circles and I was glad for the distraction.

"My lady, Lord Ashir sent these for you," a maid said, holding up a dress. I sighed. Of course he wanted to dress me up, but I had to admit that I could use a change of clothes. And a shower. It had been too much of a day.

And I could see fear in the maid's eyes, fear that I might not take the clothes she offered. She'd be blamed, and I didn't think that would go well for her. Ashir seemed like exactly the kind of asshole who'd take frustrations out on his staff.

So I resigned myself to wearing the new clothes. He might be an asshole, but I wasn't going to give him an excuse to hurt anyone if I could avoid it.

Getting changed turned out to take a while. Showering was quick enough, but the clothes my captor had sent for me were some kind of formal outfit. I needed help getting into them, and even then, they didn't fit well or comfortably. Someone had altered them to my size quickly, and while the fabric felt deliciously rich, the seams were hurriedly restitched and the overall effect was ludicrous. Heavy red fabric weighed me down, and the golden sash that the maids insisted on putting over the top kept getting caught on the fastenings.

At last they were satisfied, and I looked at myself in the mirror with a sigh. Like everything else here it was ridiculously showy and not actually very good at its job, but I'd have to put up with it.

On the walk to the dining room I kept an eye out for chances to escape. Not that I fancied running in this dress, but I didn't want to miss a chance to scout for a route out of here. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything helpful. The one thing in the castle that didn't look decorative was the security. The cold looks that the guards gave me as I passed made it clear they were watching, and their uniforms and weapons looked perfectly functional.

I'm not going to get out of here quickly, I realized. Not on my own, at least. Maybe if I can get the maids to help me? If they could sneak me out...

The obvious plan would be to switch places with one, but that was out of the question here. My skin wasn't blue, for a start, and my accented speech would give me away even if I could disguise my skin. And hair. And... it was pointless listing everything that was wrong with that plan. I gave up on it for the time being, resigning myself to staying for at least a little while.

The dining room was vast, and empty, dominated by a huge table set for two. Ashir rose from his seat to pull out a chair for me, for the moment acting like a chivalrous gentleman. Great, a romantic dinner. Just what I wanted.

As I approached, he looked me up and down, his gaze lingering altogether too long on my breasts. Perhaps that's why he didn't notice my glare, but more likely he was simply a self-obsessed asshole who didn't care.

"You look delightful," he said, finally tearing his eyes away and smiling. It wasn't a pleasant sight, and I gritted my teeth. It was easy to feel angry, but I was helpless and in his power here. Antagonizing him wouldn't be a good plan.

"Thank you," I muttered as I sat down. Better to be polite than to piss him off. Probably.

The servants appeared bearing trays full of food, dozens of dishes with a dizzying array of smells. None of them seemed familiar from my time amongst the Rohar, and I didn't really want to eat, but I had to eat something. If I'm going to escape, I need to keep my strength up.

I resolved to ignore how unlikely an escape was. I had to find a way, staying here was simply not an option. So I took a little of everything, not caring if that was the right thing to do.

For a little while we ate in silence, and I had to admit that despite my lack of appetite the food wasn't bad. Of course, Ashir had to spoil it by speaking.

"Gemma, don't look so upset," he said. "I can offer you every comfort, and I mean you no harm. You will be happy here, if only you accept your place."

"I know my place, I'm Corvax's mate," I snapped, looking up and seeing his face darken. Okay, that might not have been the most politic of things to say.

"You are not," Ashir replied. "Perhaps you wish you were, but it's not so. My sister has that honor now, not you. You are here. Accept that, make the best of it, and you can still find happiness."

"I came here as a hostage," I said, putting down my fork. The last of my appetite had vanished. "Not as anything else. You're breaking your word if you don't keep me safe."

His laugh was dark, humorless. "Oh, you will be quite safe, I promise you. That doesn't mean that you have to be comfortable. If you do not like the arrangements I have offered you, then perhaps a few days without food will change your mind."

I shivered at that. He was quite serious, but that didn't matter. I wasn't giving myself to him, no matter what he said. Our gazes locked in a glare and I saw a spark of surprise in his eyes. Ashir had misread me, and he didn't like that I wasn't going to give in quickly.

Unfortunately, he was stubborn too. A quick gesture brought guards into the room, and he nodded to them.

"Take Lady Gemma back to her room," he told them, then turned his attention back to me. "You will change your mind in a day or two, human."

We'll see about that, I thought, though I wished I'd eaten more of the meal. I was already feeling hungry by the time my escort took me out of the room.