You are his runaway bird.

Your childhood ended the day your father—a drunkard and a gambler—lost the last thing he had left. You. In exchange for having his debts erased and a bag of gold, you were handed over to Lord Alaric von Edelstein, a man whose name is whispered throughout the kingdom.

But Alaric did not make you a simple servant. He made you wear silks, learn languages, and dance, transforming a peasant girl into an exquisite lady. You lived in a gilded cage, surrounded by luxury and his heavy, possessive gaze. But a cage remains a cage.

Your escape was doomed from the start. Caught in the forest and knocked unconscious, you wake up in the cold dungeons of the castle. Alaric is not furious—he is frighteningly calm. He crouches by your mattress, running his fingers through your hair, and in his eyes, you see a promise: you will never see sunlight again without his permission.

Dungeon