At once, the air changed—quieter, colder, filled with the scent of dust and candle wax. The heavy oak doors fell shut behind her with a weighty thud that echoed through the cavernous room.
Shelves rose like dark battlements, towering above her, crammed with tomes whose spines glinted dully in the half-light. Shadows stretched between them like clawed fingers, swallowing corners and stairwells.
Her false smile faltered the moment she was alone.
She pressed a palm against her middle, steadying her breath, forcing back the ache low in her body. The memory of Haspan’s voice coiled through her mind, choking, suffocating— I will find you.
She shook her head hard. Not here. Not now.
Her boots clicked softly on the stone floor as she walked deeper in, weaving between the shelves.
She passe
