Winter’s POV

I woke up happier than I had any right to be, the bed beside me empty, cold, untouched.

At least he was gone.

I had given in again to the vile needs of that bastard, and the bitterness sat heavy in my chest, but I had saved the maids. That was the only thing keeping my sanity intact. If my body had been the price, then so be it. I could live with that. I had lived with worse.

I lifted the sheets and froze.

I had been cleaned. Properly. My skin no longer carried dried blood or ...