The nights had grown heavier since Moreen arrived. Penelope wasn’t sure why, but something about her new handmaid unsettled her. Moreen was polite, efficient, and never overstepped her boundaries. She did her duties with precision, never questioning, never hesitating. And yet, the longer she was around, the more Penelope felt like she was being watched — not in the way a servant might observe a master, but as if Moreen were studying her, memorizing her.
It had been days since she last spoke to Lucian or Richard, and without their presence, she had no way of questioning Moreen’s sudden assignment. Every attempt to read the woman’s aura left her with nothing but a void — empty and unreadable. It was unlike anything she had ever encountered, and that alone made her wary.
Penelope finished h
