“The seamstress will take your measurements tomorrow for your new clothing. And I will be your new maidservant.”

Selene nodded as she took in the room. “What is your name?”

“Essa, my lady.”

“Thank you, Essa.”

Essa bobbed her head and stepped out, closing the door softly behind her.

Selene stepped farther into the room and looked around. Her eyes kept returning to the door by her bed, and she wondered where it led. Was it an additional room? A private washroom?

She looked at the handle, then pressed down on the metal lever. The heavy wooden door opened without a sound. On the other side was an even larger bedchamber, with more lavish furniture and décor. The bed alone was twice as big as the one in the room behind her, with a thick blue coverlet trimmed in silver and a dozen pillows. A bearskin lay across the stone floor in front of an ornate fireplace—much fancier than her own—along with two stuffed chairs and a small table in between. A painting hung above the fireplace. A man stood behind a pretty woman, his hand resting on her shoulder. An older boy stood to her left and a young boy to her right.

There was something about the people that triggered familiarity. But before she could think on it more, the three large windows to the right caught her attention.

Selene approached the windows and looked out.

Her heart stopped.

Water spread out below and to the north as far as she could see. The sun was setting to the left, the brilliant colors in the sky reflecting across the water’s surface. White waves crashed against the rocky cliff upon which the castle stood.

The sea.

She leaned toward the glass, her breathing fast. So beautiful. Even more beautiful than Damien’s dreamscape. She wanted to reach out and touch it, to soak in the beauty and let it encompass her being.

She watched the waves below, and the colors in the sky turned from bright to deep and brilliant. The sun sank to the west, and streaks of red and purple filled the sky.

The first star came out, hanging over the horizon.

“Lady Selene?”

Selene gasped and stepped back from the window. Taegis stood in the doorway between the two bedrooms, a candle in hand. “I came to check on you.”

“Whose room is this?” she asked, turning away from the window. Even as she asked the question, she knew.

“Lord Damien’s.”

Of course it was. Her stomach tightened and fluttered at the same time. “And how is he doing?” she asked, keeping her feelings behind her mask.

“The arrowhead has been removed. There is an infection, but Healer Sildaern feels confident he will recover quickly. In fact, they plan on moving him here tonight. Healer Sildaern believes his lordship will feel more comfortable in his own bed.”

Selene nodded. Behind Taegis, she noticed that her room had already been lit for the evening. A reminder of how much her life had changed in a fortnight. She was married now, with separate rooms, separate quarters, perhaps even separate lives, like her father and mother.