I wake before the sun. For a second, I don't remember where I am. Then I do. And I wish I didn't.The ceiling above me isn't stone. No cracks. No damp. No flickering torchlight. Just smooth, unfamiliar quiet.My body is already tense, already awake, already waiting for something to go wrong. Old habits don't fade. They settle in your bones.I sit up slowly, scanning the room out of instinct. One door. One window. No immediate threats. Good enough. The silence presses in around me.I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand, rolling my shoulders once before moving toward the washroom.The water is warm. Hot even. Skyless Keep either had freezing water or no water. I stand under it longer than I mean to, letting it run over my skin, over scars I don't look at too closely. Clean doesn't feel like mine yet. Neither does this place.When I step out, I dry off quickly, pulling on the cadet uniform piece by piece. It fits. Too well. Like I belong here. Like I was always meant to end
Last Updated : 2026-06-03 Read more