(Penelope Declare's POV)
The Vortex estate had always felt too large to me.
Not intimidating, exactly.
I had visited often enough over the years that its marble halls, towering windows, and blue-and-silver banners were no longer unfamiliar.
I knew which corridors led toward the gardens, which staircases the servants preferred, and which drawing rooms the Duchess usually reserved for guests.
Yet there was something about the estate that made silence feel larger than it should.
Perhaps it was the height of the ceilings.
Perhaps it was the way footsteps lingered against polished stone long after someone had passed.
Or perhaps today I was simply paying too much attention to everything.
I stood beside one of the tall windows in the eastern sitting room, watching carriages move along the road beyond the front courtyard.
Most belonged to guests arriving early for tomorrow's Awakening ceremony.
My fingers rested lightly against the curtain.
