Ara’s POV
I stirred, feeling the softest mattress beneath me. Gentle voices echoed somewhere nearby, low and muffled.
“Keep it down, will you?” Damon’s familiar grumble.
The clean, earthy scent of mint and sage wrapped around me like a blanket. He was close.
“Oh, come on! I get to be at least a little excited to meet my daughter-in-law,” a woman’s voice chimed with barely-contained glee.
Daughter-in-law?
My eyes flew open. The ornate ceiling, polished floors, and velvet drapes told me everything—I was in the castle.
When did we arrive? The last thing I remembered was the car ride. I must’ve fallen asleep… and Damon, as always, must’ve carried me.
I sat up groggily, my voice still wrapped in sleep. “Damon?”
He stood by a table, and the moment I called his name, his eyes snapped to
