TRAPPED IN THE DARK CASTLE
he rasped, “shouldn’t have… that power…”
“I shouldn’t have a lot of things,” I said, pushing him aside and ripping the dagger from his belt.
He lunged weakly toward me, but I slipped past him and darted into the hallway.
The moment I stepped outside, the castle felt larger than before, filled with shadows and soft noises that traveled from every direction. It was built differently from Oliver’s—less elegant, more brutal, and intentionally confusing. The corridors branched in multiple directions, some leading downward into darker tunnels and others leading toward balconies overlooking the forest. I needed a path that led outside, not deeper in.