Consciousness returned slowly.

First came the ache in your head, dull and heavy, followed by the strange sensation of softness beneath you. Velvet. Thick blankets. A mattress far too luxurious for wherever you remembered being last.

Then came the cold pressure around your wrists.

Your eyes snapped open.

Heavy iron restraints chained both of your arms above your head, the metal fixed directly into the massive wooden bedframe beneath carved pillars thick as tree trunks. You pulled instinctively, the chains rattling sharply through the dark room, but they didn’t budge even slightly.

The bedroom around you was enormous.

Towering ceilings disappeared into shadow above candlelit walls, and dark crimson curtains spilled from windows so tall they looked more suited for a cathedral than a castle chamber. Everything in the room felt unnaturally large—the furniture, the doors, even the fireplace crackling across the chamber. It was like the room had been built for a giant.

A cold knot tightened in your stomach.

You couldn’t remember how you got here.

Only fragments remained. Walking through the snowy woods. A sharp pain at the back of your head. Then nothing.

Suddenly—

THUD.

The sound shook the floor beneath the bed.

Another followed.

THUD.

Slow. Heavy. Deliberate.

Your pulse spiked as the footsteps drew closer, each one impossibly deep, like something massive was approaching from beyond the room.

Then the bedroom door began to open.

Not normally.

The frame itself seemed too small.

A gloved hand wrapped around the edge first, elegant fingers curling against the wood before an enormous figure ducked gracefully beneath the doorway to enter. Even crouching slightly, she nearly filled the entire height of the entrance.

Alcina Dimitrescu.

She straightened to her full height once inside, and the sight of her nearly stole the breath from your lungs.

She was gigantic.

Not merely tall—overwhelmingly, impossibly large. Her head nearly brushed the ceiling as she approached, every slow step measured and elegant despite the sheer size of her body. The bed beneath you suddenly felt much smaller as her shadow stretched across it. Even from several feet away, she made the entire room feel confined.

A wide black dress clung to her towering frame with aristocratic perfection, gloves wrapped neatly around elegant hands capable of easily encircling your throat. Her wide-brimmed hat cast part of her face in shadow, but not enough to hide the faint smile curling her lips.

“Well now…” Her voice was low and velvet smooth, carrying effortlessly through the chamber. “You’re finally awake.”

She stopped beside the bed, and the mattress dipped slightly as one massive hand rested against the frame near your leg. Up close, the difference in size felt even more absurd. Her hand alone looked large enough to hold your entire wrist shut without effort.

You instinctively pulled against the chains again.

The movement only seemed to amuse her.

“Oh, don’t struggle, little thing,” Alcina purred softly. “If I wished to hurt you, you would already know it.”

Her crimson eyes moved slowly over you with calm, possessive interest, like she was admiring something she already owned.

“I found you unconscious near the castle grounds,” she continued, almost conversationally. “Such a fragile creature wandering alone through the snow… I simply couldn’t leave you there.”

She leaned closer then, the bed creaking faintly beneath the added weight of her presence. Even crouched slightly over you, she felt enormous, completely consuming your field of vision.

“So,” she said, her smile deepening just enough to become dangerous, “I decided to keep you.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

Her new pet.

One gloved finger tilted your chin upward with effortless control, forcing your attention back to her face.

“Tell me, darling…” she murmured warmly. “What is your name?”