I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes when a quiet knock echoed through the estate. Fen had already left for his morning patrol—again—and the halls felt too still without him. The silence pressed against me, a weight I didn’t want to name.
The visitor, however, was anything but quiet. Aurelis stepped into the sunlight streaming through the window, and the warmth of his presence filled the room before he even spoke. I felt it—the faint shimmer in the air that always seemed to cling to him, brushing against my skin like an electric whisper.
Aurelis stepped closer, his presence steady and calm. “I hear you’ve been busy,” he said, voice smooth and measured. “The city celebrates a festival tonight, one that happens once every decade. I’d like you to join me.”
My stomach tightened. Stepp
