Evryn did not know how long she had been walking when she realized the palace had stopped making sense, her heart beat too fast, her senses too sharp, and fear crept in quietly…not as panic, but as the growing certainty that the palace was not lost with her, It knew exactly where she was.
Evryn pressed her forehead against her knees, trying to slow her breathing.
That was when she heard it.
"Evryn."
Her body went rigid.
The voice didn't echo. It didn't rush. It wasn't loud enough to be meant for the hall.
It was close.
She lifted her head slowly.
"Evryn," the voice called again.
Brinna.
Evryn's throat tightened. Relief surged first…sharp and unwanted…followed immediately by fear. She pushed herself to her feet, her back still pressed to the wall, eyes scanning the corridor ahead.
"Brinna?" she whispered.
A figure stepped into the light at the far end of the passage.
The same black uniform. The same tight braid. The same pale, freckled face.
But something was wrong.
Brinna's steps were unhurried, measured, as if she had never doubted where Evryn would be. Her expression was calm…too calm…her eyes steady and unreadable.
"You shouldn't be here," Brinna said quietly.
Evryn's voice trembled. "I got lost."
Brinna stopped a few steps away, far enough not to touch her.
"No," she replied. "You ran."
Evryn swallowed hard. "I don't want to stay here, i can't accept this "
Brinna tilted her head slightly, studying her the way servants studied fragile things.
"They'll notice, you need to go back" she said.
Evryn's pulse raced. "Who?" she demanded. "Who is 'they'?"
Brinna didn't answer right away.
Instead, she glanced down the corridor behind Evryn, then back again, as if measuring time.
"Come back," Brinna said. "Before this becomes a problem."
Evryn shook her head. "we don't belongs here , brinna"
Brinna's lips pressed together, not unkindly…but without sympathy.
"we belong where they decide, now" she said.
The words cut deeper than Evryn expected.
"They changed us," Evryn said, her voice rising despite herself. "They had no right."
Brinna met her gaze steadily.
"They had power," she replied. "That's the only right that matters here."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Brinna stepped closer…just one step.
Evryn flinched.
"I'm not here to stop you," Brinna said softly. "I'm here to keep you from making it worse."
Evryn's eyes burned. "Worse than this?"
Brinna looked at her for a long moment.
"Yes."
Footsteps sounded somewhere far away, Brinna's eyes flicked toward the sound.
"Decide," she said quietly. "Now."
Evryn's heart pounded as she stood between two terrors: returning to the room… or being found in these halls by someone she didn't know.
Brinna held out her hand.....simply waiting , And Evryn realized with chilling clarity…Brinna had already chosen her place in this palace.
Brinna did not argue.
She simply turned and walked, already certain Evryn would follow.
The corridors seemed to shorten as they moved, turns appearing where Evryn did not remember them, doors aligning as if the palace itself had decided to cooperate. They reached the room without guards, without questions. Brinna opened the door, stepped aside, and waited.
Evryn entered before the door closed behind her.
She spun and slammed her palm against it again…once, twice…anger bursting out of her before fear could catch up then the wood cracked, a fracture spread from where her hand had struck, dust falling softly to the floor.
Evryn froze he eyes widned , and her breath caught in her throat , she stared at her hand , no pain no broken skin , only the faint warmth of impact.... and the mark she had left behind.
"I didn't…" she whispered.
Her heart began to race, not with panic this time, but disbelief.
She pressed her fingers to the crack again, make the crack wided.
Evryn pulled her hand back as if burned.
Did I…?
The thought refused to finish, Slowly, cautiously, she began to test herself.
She lifted a chair…too easily, set it down again, harder than she meant to, then the wood splintered slightly at the leg. Her breathing quickened. She moved to the wall, pressed her palm flat against it, then pushed.
The stone didn't break.
But it shifted.
Her stomach twisted.
They changed me.
Evryn laughed once, sharp and breathless. "So this is what you did to me."
Anger surged again hot, focused. She paced the room, faster now, testing balance, speed, control. Every movement answered her too well.
Then she went to the window again "I'm stronger now I can do it , nothing will happen to you evryn"
She wrapped both hands around the rope and climbed onto the window ledge.
Cold air rushed up to meet her then she swallowed hard and looked away from below.
"Don't look," she whispered to herself.
She lowered one foot, then the other, moving slowly, inch by inch. The fabric burned her palms as she slid down. Her arms shook. The ground felt impossibly far away.
Then she heard it.
A soft ripping sound.
Her heart jumped.
"No… no, wait," she gasped, freezing in place.
The rope stretched. Another tear followed, louder this time. The knots she had trusted began to slip, threads pulling apart under her weight.
She was so close. Just a little more then the fabric snapped , the world dropped out from under her .
She screamed as her body fell, hitting the ground hard, the air crashing out of her lungs, the Pain exploded across her back, sharp and blinding, she lay there for a second, staring at the sky, unable to breathe.
"Aaaaahhh….my back," she groaned, curling slightly. "That was the worst idea… the worst idea I've ever had."
She tried to move and hissed in pain, teeth clenched. Above her, the torn fabric hung uselessly from the window, swaying gently, like it was mocking her, but she was down.
Broken, hurting… but free.
Asric was resting on the balcony, leaning against the stone rail. The day air was calm, and he looked bored, as if nothing in the palace could surprise him anymore.
Then he saw her.
Evryn was running across the courtyard, moving fast and trying to stay out of sight, she hid behind pillars and walls, avoiding the guards as she rushed toward the outer gates of the palace.
Asric straightened slowly, his eyes following her. A small smile appeared on his face.
"Did I just see Evryn running away?" he said, then laughed softly.
"what?" a sound came behind him ,then the sound of the door closed roughly.
His laugh was not angry or worried. It was amused.
"Well," he thought, still smiling, "this will be interesting, she makes things less boring."
He stayed where he was, watching the empty path she had taken, already curious about what would happen next.