The bedroom door shut with a final, echoing click, and Jasmine stood frozen in place.
The room was lavish, almost deceptively so rich velvet drapes, gold-framed mirrors, and a carved four-poster bed dressed in silks. But none of that mattered. Not the gleaming chandelier, not the scent of fresh roses wafting from a crystal vase.
She didn't care.
All she saw were bars. A gilded cage was still a cage.
She whirled around and ran to the windows, yanking the curtains open. The forest beyond glowed under the amber wash of the setting sun, but the windows wouldn't budge.
She pressed her hands to the cold glass, searching for locks or hinges. Nothing. It was sealed.
Her heartbeat picked up.
She turned back to the room and began scouring every inch. Behind the armoire, under the bed, inside the wardrobe. Nothing. No secret passage, no hidden doors.
Only a single oak door, the one she'd been forced through, and it was locked tight from the outside.
