Selah’s POV
Asher quickly walked out of the room, leaving the door to swing shut behind him.
I was stuck in one place, paralyzed by fear, staring at the spot where he had disappeared.
My fingers were still wrapped around the edge of the doorframe, and my mind was in such a tumble that I could barely think straight.
He had stood right in front of me and told me he would be back for me.
And now he was gone.
“Enjoying yourself?”
The voice behind me made me flinch.
When I turned around, Lord Garrick was standing a few feet away from me.
He raised one eyebrow.
“That was quite a reaction. I didn’t realize I was so frightening.” There was a dry edge to his voice, almost sarcastic.
I quickly shook my head.
“No?” he asked.
“Then perhaps you can explain why you looked as though you had just seen a ghost.”
I wished to all the heavens that I could reply him, but my voice remainder stubborn as an old ox.
Lord Garrick’s eyes narrowed.
“And why were you listening to my private conversation?”
The question came out calmly, but I could tell that he was angry.
I had been around enough angry men to know what it looked like, what it sounded like.
I looked away from him…
maybe I could pretend I hadn’t understood.
But that thought lasted for less than a second.
Lord Garrick stepped closer to me.
“Look at me, girl.”
I slowly raised my eyes.
The stare he gave me was unlike anything I had experienced before.
It was intense and cold, angry, yet focused.
I felt as though he could see every thought passing through my head.
My hands began to tremble.
Had he heard me talking to Asher?
Had he seen the way I reacted to him?
Did he know that I knew his brother?
My mind immediately went back to the Blood Moon Market.
I remembered the way Lord Garrick had killed the warden without hesitation, the vivid blood on his knuckles.
What would he do if he discovered that Asher was the man who had murdered me?
Would he believe me?
Would he think I was some spy sent by the Umbra Pact?
Or would he simply kill me?
I was an Oracle, apparently.
I was valuable.
Maybe that was the only thing keeping me alive.
If I were someone ordinary, I would already be dead.
Lord Garrick continued staring at me, and the silence became unbearable.
Finally, he spoke.
“Listen to me very clearly, girl. The next time you are so audacious that you try to overhear one of my private conversations, I will punish you severely.”
My stomach swooped to the bottom of my feet, but Lord Garrick wasn’t done.
He took another step closer. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Do you understand?”
I nodded quickly.
“Good.” His eyes remained on me for another moment before he finally stepped back.
“You need to learn sign language.”
“I already know how to communicate through signs,” he explained.
“And you don’t need to worry about remaining unable to communicate with everyone in this house.”
That was the first thing he had said that made me feel even slightly relieved.
He turned toward the hallway.
“I’ll send one of the servants to you.
She knows sign language and will teach you.
Do you agree to learn?
I nodded.
“That’s good.” He started walking away, but then stopped.
“Are you hungry?”
I nodded yes.
“You should have said so earlier.”
I lowered my eyes, and he sighed quietly.
“I’ll tell Vera to bring you food later.”
Lord Garrick gave me one final look before walking away.
Even after he left, my hands were still shaking.
Everything was happening too quickly.
Three days ago, I had been Selah.
I had had a home, even if it was a miserable one.
I had known who I was, I recognize my face if I looked in the mirror.
But then Asher had killed me and now I was trapped inside another woman’s body, surrounded by people who called me an Oracle, tied to a man I had never met before, and unable to speak.
And Asher was here…
he was alive!
He was Lord Garrick’s brother.
I didn’t know what frightened me more, whether it was the fact that Asher had found me without knowing who I was…
or the fact that he intended to come back.
I turned away from the empty hallway and returned to my room.
I had barely been inside for a few minutes when I heard hurried footsteps approaching.
The door opened without a knock.
“FOOD!”
Vera marched into the room carrying a large tray, looking very cheerful.
“I brought you enough food to feed a small army,” she announced.
“Are you hungry?”
I stared down at the tray, feeling my stomach rumble.
There was bread, roasted meat, potatoes, fruit and a bowl of thick soup.
Vera’s eyes widened at the rumble.
“Oh.” She looked at my stomach.
“I suppose that answers my question.”
I managed a small smile, and Vera laughed.
“Come on. Eat before you start chewing on the furniture.”
She placed the tray on the small table beside the bed, and I sat down while she pulled up a chair.
“I know my uncle can be terrifying, but he is not completely hopeless.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“Don’t tell him I said that. He’ll probably throw me out.”
“There!” Vera pointed at my face.
“I knew you could smile. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
The door opened again, and a middle-aged woman stood there.
She had a kind, gentle face, with soft lines around her eyes and mouth.
Her clothes immediately reminded me of a nun’s habit.
She wore a long dark dress that covered her from her neck to her ankles, with a plain white cloth framing her face and covering her hair.
She stepped into the room calmly.
“Vera.”
Vera glanced up.
“Yes, Mira?”
“Leave us.”
Vera sighed dramatically.
“And I was having a wonderful conversation.”
Mira frowned.
“Last I checked, a conversation is supposed to go both ways. From what I can hear, you were talking to her, not with her.”
“That’s because she can’t reply me.”
Mira gave me a quick glance, then she looked back at Vera.
“Exactly.”
Vera gasped, while I covered my mouth, trying not to smile again.
She stood up and headed toward the door, then she turned back to me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll visit again later.”
Mira immediately added, “If she wants you to.”
“You wound me again!” She shrieked, then skipped out of the room, laughing to herself as she disappeared into the corridor.
The room became quiet, and Mira turned toward me.
“My name is Mira,” she introduced herself.
“I am the housekeeper around here. Lord Garrick asked me to teach you sign language.”
I watched her carefully, and she smiled, noting my suspicion almost immediately.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
I lowered my eyes.
“I understand.” She pulled the chair closer but did not sit too close to me.
“You have been through a great deal. You have been sold like a slave, taken from one place to another, surrounded by strangers and brought into a house you know nothing about. I would be suspicious too.”
Slowly I looked at her, but her face remained calm.
“I am not here to hurt you.”
I wasn’t sure whether I believed her.
Mira smiled softly.
“You don’t have to trust me today.”
Now, that surprised me.
She pointed toward the food.
“But you should eat.”
I looked at the tray, and my stomach growled again.
Mira chuckled.
“I think your stomach agrees with me.”
Immediately she finished speaking, I reached for the bread.
The moment I took my first bite, I realized just how hungry I had been.
I ate quickly, barely stopping between bites while Mira sat and watched me patiently.