I could feel Mara’s gaze like a blade between my shoulder blades....sharp, silent, and burning with hatred.
Every step I took down the moonlit corridor was deliberate, a slow saunter that matched the cold confidence I was forcing myself to wear like a mask.
My heels clacked against the marble floors, the sound echoing off the stone walls like a declaration of war.
I didn’t turn around to acknowledge her. I didn’t need to. She saw me. That was the point.
She was always watching. Always scheming.
But tonight? Tonight, she’d learn that she wasn’t the only one capable of playing dirty.
I let my hand graze the smooth walls as I walked, the silence of the hall pressing in like a weight. My senses were sharp, tuned to the rhythm of the night.
The scent of pine and smoke drifted in throu
