Erebus had been gone for hours. I spent a majority of the night trying to sleep, but it was impossible.
Everything I thought I knew was wrong, and Erebus had power that I had only heard about in ancient legends.
My mind was spinning. I remembered every single rumor I had ever heard about the Prince of the Dark, and I tried to decipher the truth.
The truth about my husband. The truth about my new life.
My stomach grumbled. What was he out there doing? Where did he go? To find whoever did this, I hoped. But Erebus seemed to have his own agenda. He seemed to have his own ideas about who was behind this attack.
And he wasn't sharing anything with me.
The door had been locked. I checked as soon as Erebus left. I wasn't surprised. After what happened, he wasn't going to let me out of here. I was as good as dead.
"I know you're out there," I yelled through the door. My forehead felt hot as I laid in against the surface of the door. "You can't just leave me in here and expect me to sit quietly. I'm hungry!"
I heard movement before Dimitrius responded, "Just wait a few more hours. I'm sure the prince will be back soon."
My stomach sank. "Hours? You really want me to sit here alone every day just waiting for Erebus to come home?" I took a deep breath and tried to calm my emotions, but my throat was stinging. "I didn't survive this far to sit here and rot in a bedroom that isn't even mine."
Tears threatened my eyes. I placed both palms against the door and imagined bursting through it, bursting all the way out of this damn castle. My words were true. I didn't survive longer than any human wife before me to just sit here and rot like some sort of prisoner.
I was Erebus' wife. I was a princess to the Caliphate. I hated that title, but I sure as saints was going to use it to my advantage if I had to.
Before I could open my mouth to plead with Dimitrius once more, the door handle began rattling.
I backed away as Dimitrius entered, shutting the door behind him.
"I can't let you leave," he said. His eyes assessed the situation, and I saw the tiniest bit of pity in them.
"You feel sorry for me?" I asked.
"I would feel sorry for anyone who's going through what you're going through. Nobody should have to live here against their will."
I laughed. "Even a retched, useless human? Aren't all werewolves supposed to hate us, anyway? What makes you so different?"
Dimitrius walked over to my open window and pushed it shut. He turned to face me before answering, "Not all werewolf think that way, Eve. That would be like you thinking all werewolves are evil, malicious beings. And you don't think that, do you?"
I held his gaze. Dimitrius was nearly as tall as Erebus, with now-visible sharp claws that protruded from his hands at any slightest discomfort. His black guard uniform was perfectly aligned to his slim body. Dimitrius wasn't my enemy. If anything, Dimitrius had been kind to me when he had no reason to be. He had shown me mercy.
I took a seat on the large sofa, but Dimitrius didn't move from the window. "I don't think you're evil, no," I answered with caution.
Dimitrius smiled. "Good. Then we're off to a good start, princess."
I tossed my head back and groaned.
"What?" he asked. "You don't want to be a princess?"
"That's a joke, right?" I replied. "In what world would I want to be a princess in a place where everyone wants me dead."
Dimitrius paused as if he were debating whether or not to stay. But after a few seconds, he sighed and came to sit with me on the sofa.
"Erebus' not so bad, you know," he said.
This forced another groan from me. "Yeah, and everyone seems to keep reminding me of that. But he's still the Prince of the Dark, Dimitrius." I paused and shook my head, remembering the way he killed those men with no more than a blink of an eye. "He's dangerous."
"But he's a great ally," Dimitrius argued.
My head was spinning. "What type of ally would lock me in a bedroom for an unknown amount of time?"
"You know he just wants to protect you."
"This isn't protecting me," I replied. "I'm a sitting duck here. If anything, this is more dangerous than the alternative."
"The alternative?" Dimitrius questioned. "You mean it's more dangerous than following Erebus around the kingdom to handle his court business? You really want to do that?"
I thought about it for a moment. "What type of court business does Erebus do, anyway?"
Dimitrius stood up and walked toward the door. "If you want to know so badly," he said, "then you should probably ask your husband." He grinned, and I caught myself wondering how old Dimitrius really was. He didn't look much older than me, but the werewolf lived for centuries, nearly immortal.
Dimitrius could have been hundreds of years older than me. And Erebus, for that matter.
"It's a little hard to ask him anything when he leaves me locked in here."
Dimitrius turned toward the door and opened it. "You better hurry up then," he asked. "We're going to get dinner."