MATILDA’S POV
The second morning didn’t feel like a morning.
It felt like death.
Like I had sold my soul to the devil and he had finally circled back to collect his debt.
I stood outside the gates again, the same way I had yesterday, but it didn’t feel the same. Yesterday, I was scared but highly determined.. Today was quieter.
Quieter in a dangerous way.
Like my brain had finally stopped arguing with the situation and started… adjusting.
And that scared me more than anything.
The gates opened before I could press the bell.
Of course they did.
Of course nothing here waited for permission.
I stepped in slowly, my boots crunching softly against the gravel before the sound disappeared into the kind of silence that didn’t feel natural. The kind of silence that made you aware of your
