Raven’s Peak never slept. Even at its quietest. Torches hissed along the corridor walls, their flames bending in unseen drafts. Guards shifted at their posts, boots scraping stone, voices kept low as if afraid the walls were listening. They always were.
Liam walked through the main gates without resistance. The iron doors opened before him, heavy and slow, as though the fortress had already been informed of his return. No one asked where he had been. No one demanded an explanation. That was worse.
Silence here meant judgment had already been passed. He had barely crossed the inner courtyard when a guard approached, shoulders stiff.
“Victor wants you. Now.”
The guard didn’t meet his eyes.
Liam nodded once with no hesitation or questions. He just followed.
The throne chamber was brigh
