The carriage had slowed to an unnerving halt, and I could feel the sudden tension hanging in the air like a thick, suffocating blanket. The quiet rush of the horses’ hooves had dulled, and the rhythmic sway of the carriage had come to an abrupt end. For a moment, all I could hear was the wind howling outside, rattling the windows with icy fingers. It was as though time itself had stopped, and in the stillness, my unease began to grow.
"Why did we stop?" Lena’s voice sliced through the quiet, sharp and questioning. Her eyes flicked toward the curtained windows, though she could see nothing but the blur of snow outside.
Ingrid, sitting opposite me, didn’t immediately answer. Her gaze was distant, though her fingers lightly drummed against the seat, a subtle sign of her own impatience. She
