Caedes POV
The door clicked shut behind me, cutting off the last whispers of the castle. For a moment, I just stood there, my back against the wood, the stillness of the room creeping in around me.
My thoughts were a tangled mess, and no matter how many times I tried to shake them off, Lilith's voice wouldn't leave me. Her words—her insistence that I go—echoed over and over. Leave, Theo. It's not safe. And she wasn't wrong. The danger in this place was like a shadow, lurking in every corner, always watching.
The robe she had insisted I wear after the duel felt heavy, almost suffocating. I pulled it off and tossed it onto the chair, rubbing the back of my neck as I tried to shake off the unease.
Lilith.
We hadn't known each other long. I'd only heard bits and pieces of her life—how she had lost her mother when she was just a child, how she'd grown up too fast, maturing in a world that demanded more than any 9-year-old should have to bear.
