"Your Highness."
The voice came like a tap on Lydia's mind, pulling her back from the deep, dark hole of thoughts she'd sunk into. It was Katherine, standing by the bath with a towel in hand.
"Your Highness?!"
"Your Highness?!"
Lydia blinked.
Katherine tilted her head. "Are you alright?"
She realized she was still sitting in the bath, her arms hugging her knees, the water gone cold around her. The warmth had faded long ago, but she hadn't noticed. Her mind was still stuck in the words from earlier.
The blood.
The screams.
A sixteen-year-old boy.
A scar.
A monster.
"I'm fine," Lydia said softly, though her voice barely sounded like her own.
The maids came to help her out of the tub. Her limbs felt heavy, as if the water had soaked into her bones. She let them wrap her in towels and pat her dry. Her eyes were blank, staring off at nothing.
