Dionne
Silas led me through corridors I'd never seen before.
Stone steps that curved and narrowed, walls that pressed closer with each turn. The castle above was grand — high ceilings, wide hallways, spaces designed to make you feel small in their vastness.
This was different.
This was older. The stone here was darker, almost black in places, rough-hewn like it had been carved directly from the earth's bones rather than built upon them.
The air grew heavier with each step, thick and damp and cold in a way that made my lungs work harder. It smelled of something ancient. Something that made the hair on my arms stand up.
Nora had been taken from my arms the moment we arrived at the castle by Violet. Nora, still half-asleep, had gone without protest. I'd watched them disappear down a corridor, my arms suddenly empty, my chest suddenly hollow, and I'd had to physically stop myself from running after them.
Then Silas had turned to me and said simply, "Come."
