After returning to Delmora Town, Theodore locked himself away for three days and three nights.
He didn't speak to a single soul.
The entire estate was on edge—servants crept through the halls like ghosts, hardly daring to breathe. Everyone knew: ever since he came back from Greenpeak Mountain, something had changed in him.
It was as if his spirit had been ripped right out of him.
His eyes were permanently bloodshot, his energy drained, his temper coiled like a loaded trap. He spent night after night drinking himself into oblivion, but not once did he shed a single tear.
On the fourth morning, just as the sky began to lighten, Theodore finally moved.
The door to his study slammed open, the force rattling the hinges. His eyes still burned crimson, voice ragged and dark.
"Get my horse.
