149

Elena POV

When I thought all this was just James’ mother trying to place me under watch, I realized too late that it was far more than surveillance.

It was a hunt.

It began with the footsteps, soft, calculated, and deliberately slow, like whoever it was wanted me to hear them. I jolted awake on my narrow bed, sweat already forming on my brow despite the chilly air of the room. My eyes flicked to the other maids sleeping soundly around me, undisturbed.

My instincts screamed.

Carefully, I slid out of bed, tiptoeing across the cold floor. The sound of my own breath felt loud against the unnerving silence. I stepped outside into the hallway, my bare feet padding softly against the cold stone. The palace was quiet, too quiet as though it were holding its breath.

But that feeling…

That eerie, bone-deep feeling of being watched lingered like fog clinging to my skin.

The torches on the hallway walls flickered dimly, casting long, stretching shadows. My heart thudded hard, and then..