A dozen scenarios flashed through Violet's mind at once.
Who could have followed them here? If even Lila couldn't identify the girl, then this had to be someone completely unfamiliar.
And suddenly, it clicked in her head. Those moments back in the North when she had felt those strange, prickling sensations, like eyes were on her. She had dismissed them then, too caught up in the problems surrounding her to dwell on them.
But now, it all slammed together in her mind with chilling clarity. She had been followed. Violet just hadn't realized it until this exact moment.
They followed the Queen through the halls of the palace, the entire place an epitome of refinement and ethereal grace. But the beauty didn't last long because the deeper they walked, suddenly the air grew colder, heavier and darker.
The once luminous walls now dulled into rough, shadowed brick. Even the magic here felt harsher, as if whatever lived in these depths didn't deserve the palace's warmth.
