The air on Ro's skin lifted, and she clutched the seat, her nails digging into the plush material. Every cell in her body told her to flee.
"What are you doing?" Ro breathed.
"Impressive…"
The dense air faded and strangely, Ro's vision was clearer. A wave of dizziness swept through her body, causing her vision to sway. She stiffened and closed her eyes, raking in slow and steadied breaths. When she opened them, her face was twisted in frustration.
The glow in the older woman's eyes still lingered.
"Ro, do you know what we are?" Geneva repeated her question.
Ro's frown deepened. She barely knew anything about Lispans except for their race and rumours of their free laws.
She responded, "Wolves. What did you—"
Geneva chuckled. "I love the fire in your eyes. Make no mistake. I do not mean to threaten you. This is merely the tip of what you're going to experience while living amongst our species."
Ro clamped down on her jaw and she slowly tore her trembling hands off the chair to rest them on her knees. She did not like what the woman had just done, and it was enough to severely disturb her.
"I do not know what you have been taught about us, but wolves are very broad a term." Geneva spread an arm over the back of her seat.
"I know. Just as we have different nymphs in Erzi, I am aware Lispa has various breeds of wolves," Ro breathed, tearing her eyes away from Geneva's.
Geneva's voice softened. "I apologise. The nausea will pass soon."
"Forgive me if I am rude, but was this necessary?" Ro gritted out.
"Yes. It is. Look at me."
Ro slowly shifted her gaze to meet Geneva's.
"We are headed to Utonica, Lispa's capital city," Geneva took her arm off the headrest and leaned forward, elbows resting on her lap. "The ruling class are Lycans." The glow in Geneva's eyes faded. "I am one, and I just exposed you to one of my many pheromones. You should have fainted."
The colour vanished from Ro's face. "Is this something others release randomly?"
"Yes, because many will try to intimidate you. Tell me, what nymph are you?" She paused and leaned back, touching her chin as she looked at the window, lost in thought. "We should have considered this initially when picking someone from your nation."
So she had been picked. Ro felt a disturbing dread consume her. If this was an arranged marriage for peaceful resolutions, Erzi had just committed a severe offence.
"I'm a dryad. A tree nymph," Ro lied.
She would not make the mistake of letting them know her actual ability yet. Then again, hers was rare.
Ro then added, not giving the older woman a chance to ask more questions about her skills, "You said others will try to intimidate me. I am not sure how that guarantees my safety."
Geneva's lips spread in a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Different pheromones are released depending on one's mood. Some wolves do it unconsciously. Servants and attendants, for example."
'I have to tell them this was a mistake. But—'
"That is beside the issue." Geneva spoke up, breaking Ro's train of thought. "You will be wed to a very powerful Lycan. One far stronger than I am."
"Lord Iver?" his name escaped Ro's lips in a low, hoarse whisper. If she wasn't scared before, she was now terrified. "Is he of high status?"
Geneva tapped long nails against her thigh. "Yes."
Ro swallowed the laughter that threatened to burst forth.
Her people dared to deceive someone of such high rank. She was scorned in Erzi, a widow, then a disgraced concubine to the late governor. A used woman with no worth. She had survived all that. But this?
It still did not change the fact that she was a disgrace in Erzi.
And for them to have offered someone as 'worthless' as her to establish peace was a spit to the face.
'I am dead if the Lispans find out the truth.'
Her rebirth in an unfamiliar territory was already off to a dangerous start.
The rest of the carriage ride passed in silence. Ro was tired, drained, and scared. Her eyelids were heavy, but she could not sleep. She watched shadows of trees pass by the window, her mind racing.
How and why had she come back to life only to lose it soon? Could she even escape? But to where? She had not even had the avenue to sit down and thoroughly assess her life force.
Ro looked at Geneva, who she discovered was watching her intently. She dragged her eyes back to the window.
Those gazes at the port, and now hers. They were inspecting her.
__________
Ro stood inside a building more foreign than she had expected. The view from outside had shocked her, and yet the one within nearly left her breathless. Ro had been met with two attendants at the large stone entrance of the castle, one of them being Ester, the woman she had met in her cabin.
How they had arrived before her, she had no clue. Regardless, she let herself be escorted into a sprawling entry hall. High-arched windows carved pale light into the hall, and rising ceilings soared so high they vanished into shadows. The whole chamber made her feel insignificant, as if she didn't belong there at all. Four grand staircases spread out in different directions, vanishing into deeper reaches of the castle. There were also two heavy doors in the hall. Every surface gleamed cold and polished, meant to impress but not invite.
The hall's silence was shattered as a door exploded outward. A large figure hurtled across the chamber and struck the wall at the other end of the hall. Ro's eyes widened as the motionless figure slid down the stone wall, leaving behind a dark smear.
A panicked voice rang from within. "Iver, wait!"