The night had descended upon the estate like a heavy shroud, swallowing the jagged edges of the mountains in darkness. Rex moved through the corridors not like a guest, but like a shadow reclaiming its territory.
His boots were silent on the marble as he approached Aurelia's private wing. He had expected the familiar: the scent of expensive lavender, the soft glow of candlelight against silk sheets, and the intimate confines of a bedchamber.
But as he pushed open the heavy oak doors to her inner sanctum, he found himself standing in something else entirely.
It wasn't a bedroom. It was a vast, dimly lit drawing room that felt more like a fortress than a place of rest.
High vaulted ceilings disappeared into darkness, and the only light came from a dying fire in a massive hearth, casting long, dancing shadows across the walls.
