The castle corridors hummed with unease, shadows twisting unnaturally along the walls as Alina moved with purpose. The Veil pulsed beneath her skin, threads coiling like living tendrils, demanding her attention. Last night’s triumph still lingered, but now the energy had shifted. The rogue surge she had contained was only the beginning; the Veil itself seemed to be testing her limits, probing, whispering that her next challenge would require every ounce of her control.
Kael followed closely, dark presence close enough to make her senses tingle. “Keep your focus,” he warned, voice low, intimate, commanding. “The Veil doesn’t forgive hesitation. And neither do I.”
Alina nodded, threads of her mark twisting, pulsing, aware of every movement, every glance. “I’m ready,” she said, though a shi
