Kael
I should let her walk away. That's the rule. No interference, no favoritism, no attachments. But rules have never suited me, and Aria Vale already looks like one rule I'm going to break.
She leaves the mirrored hall without looking back, shoulders tight, jaw set. The others drift off in clusters. The wolves are sniffing out alliances, the humans are whispering about the first trial, but she moves alone.
The torches along the corridor flare as she passes, sparks licking higher as if the castle itself wants to light her way. The place likes her. Of course it does. The castle always did have impeccable taste.
I follow at a distance, quietly, so I don't startle her.
"Following contestants again, are we?"
Nyxara's voice slides into my mind, sweet as honey and twice as s
