*Aria*
I wake up in the middle of the night, heart racing for no apparent reason. The house is quiet, wrapped in the soothing embrace of darkness, but there’s an unsettling feeling gnawing at my gut. I sit up, straining my ears for any sound, but all I hear is the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall.
That’s when I notice it… a flickering light dancing outside the window, casting erratic shadows that twist and turn across the walls. My breath catches in my throat as I throw off the covers and rush to the window. My heart drops when I see the source of the light: flames licking at the side of one of the stables, bright and hungry.
“Ryder!” I hiss, panic flooding my veins as I shake him awake.
He stirs, his eyes fluttering open, confusion quickly morphing into alarm as he takes in
