We had been walking for a while, the snow crunching softly beneath our boots, when Carter suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere. I looked around, confused—there was nothing but trees and untouched white silence. Before I could ask, he reached down and touched an exposed tree root.
The ground shifted.
The root lifted, twisting and unfolding like a door being unlatched from beneath the earth.
“Welcome to my home away from home,” Carter said, pride warming his voice.
I stepped closer, staring at the makeshift doorway carved from nature itself. My heart softened instantly at how much effort must have gone into creating something so hidden, so sacred.
He spoke again, this time more softly—almost vulnerably.
“Being in the castle with my mother and sisters can be… a lot, at times. One d
