QUEEN’S pulse thrummed in her ears like a cruel taunt as she sat frozen on the edge of her bed. Her bare feet pressed against the cold marble floor, grounding her back into the suffocating reality she had just heard with her own ears, Oswald’s voice, roaring through the mansion like a lion deprived of its prey. And what was the prey? A maid. A nobody. A disposable girl who should have vanished like smoke and yet… here she was, the invisible chain wrapped around Oswald’s neck, yanking him further and further away from Queen’s grasp.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the bitter sting of tears. No. She would...