A FEW HOURS LATER...
Lady Halwen had assigned each of us a task—something menial, something precise, something enchanted just enough to remind us we were being tolerated, not trusted. The instructions were clear: complete everything before the guests arrived in the evening. Then return to the Academy. No lingering. No distractions. And certainly no presence at the actual event.
That part, at least, suited me fine.
There was comfort in the boundaries. In knowing exactly what was expected and when it would end. And as the final ribbon was tied, the last gilded tag pressed onto a velvet pouch, I felt it—the fragile illusion of safety slipping back into place.
There was a moment—brief, unannounced, almost invisible—when I let myself believe the worst had passed.
It arrived without drama.
