Dawn did not bring warmth, but it crept thin and pale across the horizon. There was a thick, restless, and distrustful silence throughout the estate, the kind that comes after a battle. There were whispers in every hallway that I couldn't ignore but wasn't supposed to hear.
She stumbled.
She summoned the shadows.
What if she doesn't stop the next time?
Every word penetrated me more deeply than any wound. As though I could keep the pieces together long enough to withstand their gazes, I put my arms around myself.
Thorn was still by my side. Not once. He still walked half a step behind me as we passed through the halls, his presence a steel-sharp shield. His knuckles were raw and his arm was bandaged, but the same unwavering fire that had kept us going through the night was still burnin
