I returned to the bedroom carrying a silver tray loaded with Aurora's favorite foods. Grilled salmon with herbs, roasted vegetables, fresh bread with butter, and wild berries I'd had the kitchen staff gather from the forest. Everything I remembered her enjoying during our time together, though she wouldn't remember any of it now.

Aurora was sitting upright against the headboard, her wrists chafed raw from pulling against the restraints. Her green eyes tracked my movement with the wariness of a ...