Natalie POV
The subterranean staircase leading to the core Moonlight vaults felt like a descent into the throat of an ancient monster. The air grew steadily colder with every step I took, thick with the heavy scents of damp earth, rusted iron, and the stale, moldering decay of secrets left to rot in the dark.
Beta Marcus walked two steps behind me, the steady, rhythmic clink-clink of his silver-armored boots echoing loudly off the narrow stone walls. Behind him, the heavy thuds of twenty elite vanguard warriors filled the corridor, their unsheathed swords gleaming under the harsh, flickering orange light of the torches they carried.
I kept my hands buried deep within the heavy folds of my midnight-blue velvet gown, my fingers tightly gripping the massive, freezing ring of iron keys Rich
