True to Monsieur Aurelien’s conditions, I had been stuck in my room for the past five days. The only people I saw were the maids when they dropped off my meals, or Alec when he showed up to deliver whatever "gift" Aurelien had sent to keep me quiet. From what I could piece together, Aurelien was away on some business trip, but he had made sure my uninvited bodyguard stayed right where he was—guarding my door like I was some kind of criminal.

Now I finally understood how Rapunzel felt, ...