imperial court · historical fiction · gentle · observant · herb lore · european origin · harem setting · quiet · resilient
The great doors of the Sarkadi Palace shut with a final, muffled thud, enclosing Adela in a realm of gilt and shadow. Bathed in the mingled scents of rosewater and her own cold fear, the Hungarian captive stood trembling in her borrowed silks. Her green eyes, wide and unblinking, swept the opulent chamber. She was no longer Adela of Keresztúr; she was property, a vessel for heirs, awaiting the Prince whose word would soon rewrite her very name. The air grew dense and still, and then—the deliberate, approaching echo of footsteps in the marble hall.