Raven
The next morning, I went looking for poison.
Not actual poison.
Anything.
Anything that could make me sick enough to avoid Axel.
I searched through the kitchens first under the careful eyes of the guard assigned to me. He stayed close enough that I could hear every shift of his boots against the floor, every small breath he took whenever I paused too long beside something.
It was suffocating.
I reached toward a basket of dried herbs, only for him to immediately speak.
"What are you looking for?"
I forced myself not to flinch.
"Tea," I answered softly. "I haven't been sleeping well."
His eyes narrowed with suspicion before he stepped closer and examined the herbs himself.
"I'll ask the kitchen workers to prepare it."
Of course he would.
I pulled my hand back slowly.
"Thank you."
The guard remained beside me the entire time afterward, watching every movement I made like I was some dangerous criminal instead of a prisoner pretending to cooperate.
Maybe I was both.
