*Chapter 39:
ALESSIA
I didn’t close the door behind me, because part of me knew that if I did, I’d find a reason to stay inside and wait for morning, and waiting was the one thing I couldn’t afford anymore with Veyl awake and the border restless and my name carried on the wind like an invitation I hadn’t given. The hallway was cold and silent in that way that only happens before a storm, and every step I took echoed too loudly against the stone, as if the house itself was listening and deciding whether to hold me back or let me go. The mark on my hand was cold now, but it wasn’t dead, it pulsed once, slow and deliberate, and I had the distinct sense that it was syncing with something beyond the walls, something that had been patient for a long time and was finally seeing me move on my
