Chapter 38: The Secret Chamber
The air outside the ballroom was cold and sharp, like shattered glass. Eira barely noticed the sting on her knuckles as Mira led her down a back stairwell behind a tapestry bearing the crest of House Valenhart—a silver phoenix rising from flame. The echo of murmurs still haunted the hallways, trailing them like ghosts. Everyone had seen what happened. Everyone had seen her lose control.
No, Eira thought. Not me. It wasn’t me.
It was her.
Selis.
Eira didn’t speak, couldn’t speak. Her breath came shallow, her body still buzzing with the aftershock of the outburst. Mira moved briskly, torchlight flickering against her face, jaw tight with purpose.
“This way,” Mira said, barely above a whisper. “We don’t have long.”
They passed through a narrow passage beh
