The night pressed in around Liana like a suffocating blanket, heavy and stifling. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying in vain to escape the cacophony that emanated from the kitchen below. The raucous mocking laughter, breaking glasses, and off-key yells were all too familiar, the only difference was that they were fighting tonight rather than partying.
Normally, the thick wooden walls, enchanted long ago by her mother, would have kept the noise at bay. But it seemed that even the magic had its limits—or perhaps, like her, it was simply exhausted by their presence.
Frustration boiled within her, her blood pressure rising with every new burst of sound that shattered the night’s stillness. Liana buried her head beneath the pillow, trying to muffle the noise, but it was no use. She tho
