Chapter 11 Purple Loss As Dry Wine

• Astrid took the wine glass. It was probably her third or fourth. She wasn’t counting. She looked at the window of his office, the wind blowing the curtains. She felt something wet cover his hand. The glass had broken and the woman had not even noticed.
• That was a bad omen. The liquid stained his skin, like blood. The woman closed her eyes, thinking about how her life was those two things: evil and blood.
• When she was little, her father kept her in the castle, only with the company of servants and relatives. Her older sister, aged 7, had been kidnapped and killed due to the war. The day another princess was born, the king wanted to protect her at all costs. He would not allow another daughter to die because of him. The war was over, but Edwin still had that guilt in him. Her only companion was his older brother, Renien. As a teenager, she could only go out accompanied by guards and his lady-in-waiting. Astrid told her she could defend herself. She was a warrior. Someone with magic didn’t need someone else. But the king wouldn’t let his guard down. To him, she was still a little girl who needed her protection. Until she was 20, her father told her she should get married. Your fiancé would have to be strong enough to protect you.