The promise she had made sat heavy in her chest. She was to meet Elowyn again—not for lessons in magic or control, but for something different. To learn how to touch the vision when it came again… and to return from it. But unexpectedly, she had been summoned by Lady Cassia. Elowyn had allowed it—no, had insisted—that she obey Cassia's call, to read and observe even the unsaid and unseen with vigilance.
The afternoon light had turned molten by the time Anneliese crossed the marble bridge leading to the west tower. She followed the servant who had come to summon her, her steps careful against the sun-warmed stone. Though it had been weeks since her arrival in the castle, she still did not know its paths or turns—the endless corridors, hidden stairways, and mirrored halls that seemed to shift with the hours.
