The palace walls were soaked in gold. Not just the color, but the weight of it. Heavy curtains swept across towering windows, floor-length and lush like draped crowns. Velvet red, trimmed with braided black silk, glowed in the late afternoon light. Izora stood just beyond the entrance to the Royal
Claude turned to him sharply, eyes narrowed. “Stop acting like a child and focus,” he snapped. Otis’s grin dimmed, replaced with something more calculating. The trees around them swayed, their long shadows dancing under the flicker of distant firelight. Another low *boom* echoed in the distance, a
The woods at night carried a kind of silence that didn’t feel like peace, it felt like a trap waiting to close. The rustle of boots over dead leaves echoed between the gnarled trees, damp from the recent rain. Fog rolled low, curling like fingers between roots and rocks. In the dimness, the flicker
The gates creaked open with the groan of old iron. Izora flinched at the sound, her breath catching in her throat. A black car rolled to a stop before the grand courtyard, gravel crunching beneath its wheels. The moment it hissed to a halt, the back door opened and Kaiser stepped out in one fluid
The scent of old books and dark wood lingered in the library, but it was the quiet tension that filled the air as Izora stepped in. She was dressed in a cream-colored long-sleeve blouse tucked into a high-waisted pleated skirt that hugged her hips, soft curls falling over her shoulder. The silence w
“It probably is,” he said. “But I’ve kept it longer than the real one. So it might as well be mine now.” Unity turned away again, her hand brushing over the scarred wall beside her. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You shouldn’t have come here, Zan. Not for me.” Zan’s face sobered instantly