Awakened
Stepping across the threshold, I gently pushed the heavy door shut behind me, holding the brass handle up until the latch caught with a soft, muffled click that ensured no sound would carry down the carpeted hallway.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs like a trapped bird beating against a cage. Downstairs, my father, Evelyn, Lurii, Julian and Marcus were sitting around a sprawling dining table built entirely on lies, with Julian using the massive weight of his presence to keep the wolves at bay. I knew I didn't have much time. Every second I spent away from the table was a risk, an opening for my stepmother to send a maid upstairs to check on her runaway stepdaughter and ruin my ent