Aria
A bell wakes me the way fear does, with no mercy.
It starts as a single, low vibration that rattles the floorboards beneath my bed, then grows until it thrums through the walls and into my bones. I bolt upright, heart hammering, breath fogging the air. The castle is never quiet, not really, but this sound feels deliberate. It is a summons. The Game has begun.
I dress quickly. The clothes I laid out last night are still damp from the forest's humidity that somehow seeps into every room: a leather vest, dark trousers, and boots that pinch my left heel. Everything is practical. I don't need to be pretty. Not here.
When I step into the corridor, other doors are opening too. Faces peer out, either bleary-eyed or tense. The vampire looks perfectly put together, of course. Elyr
