RAVYN'S POV
The courtyard was a walled-off jewel hidden deep in the castle's inner circle, open to the sky above but surrounded on all sides by towering grey stone. Vines curled up along the walls, reaching lazily toward the metal arches overhead, which were draped in silks dyed in soft shades of rose and ash-blue. The stone floor beneath our feet had long since warmed beneath the harsh sun, turning each step into a quiet reminder that today would not be kind.
Fountains trickled in each corner, their quiet gurgling doing little to soothe the tension woven tightly through the air. We stood arranged in neat rows, the morning drills just beginning, and Lady Dust's voice sliced through the air with her usual chill.
