I jolted awake, my body slick with sweat. The nightmare clung to my mind like smoke: the monster with molten eyes and jagged claws had returned, looming over me in a darkness that felt thicker than stone. In the dream, Hyacinth’s small hand had reached for me, trembling and warm, yet I had felt powerless to protect her. Floryn’s blessing pulsed faintly in my veins, a quiet, persistent hum, reminding me that I was not entirely alone—but even that gift could not shield me from the terror of the night.
My heart raced, pounding against my ribs like a drum of warning. I pressed myself into the corner of the small bed I shared with other maids, listening to the gentle morning stirrings of the mansion. The polished floors of the second story gleamed faintly in the pale light filtering through th
