Lyssandra.
Night had finally descended, thick, watchful, and mercifully quiet.
This was the hour I had been waiting for.
By now, most wandering eyes would be dulled by fatigue, and only a handful of guards would bother studying my face as I passed. The path I intended to take cut directly through the market, and after dusk that place became little more than a graveyard of shuttered stalls and forgotten scents.
Perfect.
“Come here, Raven. We must leave now,” I whispered.
Her small hand slipped into mine without resistance, warm and trusting, a sensation that pricked sharply at my conscience.
We moved through the castle corridors like shadows. Fortune favored me tonight; I did not cross paths with Danika. She had wisely kept her distance from my affairs these past years, and for that
