MAEVE'S POV
"I was getting a book from the library," I said quietly, raising the volume in my hand to show them. The worn leather cover looked pitiful in my grasp, like a flimsy shield against their hard stares. "Is everything okay here?"
"Is everything okay?" The maid scoffed, an ugly sound as she folded her arms. The derision in her eyes caught me off guard—it was the kind of look people reserved for vermin.
"You've got some nerve to ask that when all you've done since stepping foot in this house is try to tear it apart."
My brows furrowed. "What?" I inhaled a sharp breath, clinging to calm though my pulse was racing. "What are you talking about?"
This time, it wasn't her voice but one of the guards at her side that cut through the hall. His tone was like stone grinding against stone—hard, unyielding, dripping with venom.
"You're really going to stand there and act like you don't know?"
