The night air seemed to come alive. Cool, sharp, and startlingly real against her skin as Ravyn stepped out of the house and onto the wide front porch. It slipped beneath her clothes, brushed across her face, tugged lightly at her hair—as if reminding her what breathing actually felt like.
She stood in place for a second. Absolutely still, letting it sink in.
The sky stretched endlessly above her, deep and dark, scattered with faint stars barely visible beyond the faint glow spilling from the house behind her. It was quiet out here, completely different from inside the mansion. It wasn’t just because of noise, but out here nothing pressed in on her.
No walls, no watchful eyes, no expectations.
Her chest rose slowly with a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. This… this is wha
