Elyndra smiled as she traced her fingertip along the edge of the door, admiring the intricate weave of cold magic clinging to it. The moment her finger brushed the knob, a powerful shockwave burst outward, sharp enough to sting, strong enough to rattle her borrowed bones.
She pulled her hand back with a soft laugh.
"So dramatic," she murmured. "Typical Sebastian."
She had woken moments earlier to an empty room... Quiet, sterile, too orderly for her taste. No servants. No guards. No Lucian.
Just silence and the heavy pressure of a seal that pressed against her skin like invisible chains.
Sebastian's work, she recognized it instantly.
The same kind of seal that once locked her soul inside nothingness after Lucian froze her body and shattered it into dust.
The memory flickered. It was damn cold and bitter.
Why had he hated her enough to do that?
Elyndra truly didn't understand.
All she had ever done was clear the path for him.
