The first pale, watery rays of the morning sun filtered through the heavy velvet curtains of the private study, casting long, cold shadows across the room. They stretched over overturned books, scattered files, and the empty crystal tumbler that still rested on the edge of the desk, its amber contents long since gone. The fire in the hearth had completely died down, leaving nothing but gray ashes and the faint, bitter smell of burnt wood lingering in the stale air.
Silence filled the room. Not the comforting silence of peace, but the fragile, uncertain quiet that always followed a storm.
I blinked my eyes open, my body instantly tensing against the plush cushions of the massive leather sofa. For several long seconds, I couldn't remember where I was. My mind floated somewhere between drea
