Lena stood in the shadowed corner of the great hall, looking around warily to ensure no one was watching. The night jasmine in the gardens perfumed the air, the darkness wrapping around her like a cloak. She passed through a secret door and down the narrow set of stairs to the secret room beneath the castle. She has to sneak back to her pack, she sent a letter to her mother the first day she saw Isla.
The cold stone walls echoed with her hurried footsteps as she reached the dimly lit room. Her mother stood there, draped in a flowing black cloak, her piercing eyes gleaming in the candlelight.
“You’re late,” her mother’s voice was sharp, cutting through the silence.
Lena bowed her head, causing her voice to tremble. "I'm sorry, Mother. I had to make sure no one saw me leave."
Her moth
