Willow's body hurt in places she did not know could hurt.
Her left arm throbbed with a dull ache that made it hard to move, and her ribs felt like someone had taken a hammer to them.
She sat on the floor of the slave quarters trying to catch her breath and wondering how things had gotten so bad so fast.
It had started like any other day. She was carrying water from the well to the kitchens when the other slaves decided they wanted to make her day worse than it already was.
There were three of them and they moved around her like wolves circling prey.
The one named Marta was the worst. She had mean eyes, a meaner mouth and she seemed to enjoy making her life difficult every chance she got.
Willow did not know what she had done to make them dislike her so much, but it did not matter anymore because they had decided she was worth hurting.
Marta had shoved her against the wall and the bucket of water had gone flying everywhere.
The cold water had soaked through Willow's clothes and made her shiver but that was not the worst part.
When she tried to pick up the bucket, Marta had grabbed her arm and twisted it back in a way that made her scream.
The pain had shot through her entire body like fire and she could not stop the sound that came from her mouth.
It was loud and it was desperate and it echoed through the palace hallways.
That was when everything changed.
Dorian had come through the doors like a storm and his face was the color of rage.
Willow had never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at those slaves and she had been grateful that his anger was not directed at her for once.
He had not said much. He had just looked at them with eyes that promised pain and death and they had scattered like insects running from light.
Marta and the others had run so fast that they knocked things over trying to escape and Willow had been left alone on the floor with Dorian standing over her.
She had thought maybe he would help her up or ask if she was hurt, but instead he had just looked at her for a moment and then walked away without saying anything.
His jaw had been clenched so tight that she thought his teeth might break and his fists had been curled into balls at his sides.
Now she was sitting in her small room trying to figure out what she was supposed to do.
Her arm felt like it was swelling up and she could not move it without sharp pain shooting through her.
She needed to see someone about it but she did not know who to ask.
A knock at her door made her jump and her heart started beating fast.
She thought maybe it was one of the other slaves coming back to finish what they started but when the door opened it was one of the palace servants, an older woman named Dottie who sometimes brought her food.
Dottie took one look at Willow's arm and her face went white. She helped Willow stand up even though it hurt and she told her to come with her.
Willow did not have the strength to argue so she followed Dottie through the hallways and up the stairs toward the main part of the palace.
Dottie told her that she needed to bring tea to the Alpha King's study and that Willow would do it since she was already up there.
She wanted to say no, but she honestly could not say no to anyone in this place and she was too hurt and tired to argue.
So she found herself in the kitchens preparing the tea and trying not to use her injured arm even though it was impossible.
The cup and saucer rattled in her hand as she made her way through the corridors toward Dorian's study.
Her heart was beating too fast and her palms were sweating. The last time she had been near him, he had looked at her like she disgusted him and she did not want to see that look again.
But she had no choice so she kept walking.
When she got to the study, she could hear voices coming from inside. One of them was Dorian and the other was Magnus.
She stopped just outside the door and raised her hand to knock when she heard Dorian raise his voice.
Dorian was talking about her and the words coming through the door made her stomach drop.
"She cannot even defend herself against other slaves," Dorian was saying and his voice was sharp with anger.
"What kind of mate does the moon goddess give me? A weakling. A useless slave that cannot throw a punch without breaking her own bones."
Willow felt her chest tighten and she had to stop herself from making a sound. She knew he did not want her.
She had known that from the moment he walked away from her in the hallway after that first time she saw him, but hearing him say it out loud was different. It was worse.
Magnus said something but she could not hear it clearly. Then Dorian spoke again and this time his voice was even colder.
"She is not fit to be Luna. She is not fit for anything except maybe warming a bed but even that seems like a waste of my time at this point."
Willow's eyes started to burn with tears and she blinked them back because she did not want them to fall.
She listened as Magnus talked about using her to produce an heir and then throwing her out of the palace and finding someone better. Someone stronger. Someone worthy.
The words cut through her like knives and she stood there in the hallway unable to move or breathe or do anything except listen to the man she had felt connected to in that moment when their eyes first met talk about discarding her like she was garbage.
The tea in her hands started to shake and she was so focused on not dropping it that she almost did not hear the footsteps coming down the hallway.
When she did hear them, she realized she had been standing at the door for too long and someone was going to find her there listening to a private conversation.
She raised her hand to knock on the door just as it started to swing open, Magnus appeared in the doorway looking directly at her with an expression she could not read.