Alina left the kitchen with her pulse still unsettled, the warmth of the hearth fading as the heavy door swung shut. The silence of the castle closed around her, so dense it seemed to drink the sound of her breathing. She hesitated in the corridor, unsure where to turn. To go back to her chambers would mean lying awake with her thoughts circling like carrion birds—Kael’s warning, Riven’s goading, the Veil’s whispered claim. She couldn’t face those walls yet.
Instead, she chose the downward passage. The air cooled with every step, carrying a faint tang of damp stone. Torches hung in brackets, their flames half-dead, smoke drifting upward like black ribbons. Shadows shifted along the walls as though they leaned closer to watch her. She didn’t flinch. If the Veil lingered in the dark, then s
