The air in the castle was thick with unease as It clung to the walls, seeping into the corridors, and whispering through the tapestries. Servants bustled about with lowered gazes, their movements stiff, their voices hushed. Even the guards, who usually stood as stoic as stone, had an unfamiliar edge to their stance—tense, wary, and alert. However, I ignored it or, at least, I tried to.
On the contrary, I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, draped in a thick quilt as I took slow spoonfuls of warm porridge. It was sweetened with honey, the consistency comforting and smooth against my tongue, and yet, I felt anything but comforted.
‘Something was wrong.’ I uttered internally, my gaze observing my surroundings.
It wasn’t just the whispers beyond my door. It wasn’t just the wary glances fr
