Chapter 17: The Windowless World
The cabin smelled of cedar and stagnation.
It was not a musty smell, but the scent of air that had been trapped for too long, waiting for someone to breathe it. Kaelen carried me across the threshold, his boots heavy on the wooden floorboards. He kicked the door shut behind us.
Thud.
The sound was final. It was the sound of a coffin lid closing. Then came the sound of the locks. One. Two. Three. Heavy steel bolts sliding into place, sealing us inside a box buried in the woods.
"Welcome home," Kaelen whispered into my hair.
He didn't put me down. He walked through the darkness, navigating the space by memory or instinct. He reached out and flipped a switch.
The room flooded with light.
It wasn't the soft, warm glow of a hearth. It was bright, artific
