Cold
The castle was cold.
Her bedroom, as large as all her siblings' and her own bedrooms combined, held only her – and the maids that visited her everyday, or kept her company through her occasional headache.
The fire that roared from the fireplace would never be warmer than being cocooned between Aaron and Adele – Ainsley always lay on the other side of Adele; but even the presence of someone would make the place warmer and less like being sent into the lair of scheming wolves.
Everyone wanted to win, to become the future queen, and everyone had their own reasons.
Including Amberly, because she wanted more for her family, and there hadn't been anything to lose from simply submitting a form.
But, somehow, she knew she had started to fall for Clarkson – no matter how odd his requests often were.
Perhaps she could find some warmth there. It wouldn't be the same now, but Amberly thought it would some day.