The grand hall of the castle felt less like a meeting room and more like a massive box made of stone and frozen fear. The hundreds of black candles burning along the walls gave off a thick, smoky scent that mixed horribly with the cold mountain air. Everyone at the massive circular oak table sat perfectly straight, their shoulders tense, their eyes moving back and forth like soldiers waiting for the first gunshot of a war.
I sat right next to Julian, my hands resting flat on the dark wood of the table. The heavy platinum ring he had given me felt colder than ever against my skin. Every single muscle in my body was tight, pulled into a wire that felt ready to snap at any second. I kept my face blank, pale, and completely calm, drawing on every single hour of my training to hide the frantic
