"Shadows have a way of creeping back, no matter how tightly you seal the door."
The night was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that gnawed at your nerves and made your instincts scream. The stars were hidden behind a veil of thick clouds, and the faint glow of the moon did little to illuminate the castle grounds. Even the guards patrolling the walls seemed subdued, their footsteps muffled against the stone.
I couldn’t sleep. The restless energy that had been building in my chest all day had finally driven me out of bed and into the cool night air. I wandered the castle halls, my footsteps echoing softly against the stone. It wasn’t until I reached the old library—a part of the castle I rarely visited—that I felt the pull.
It started as a faint hum, a vibration in the air that made the
