By the time they returned to their inn it was already quite late.
Without further delay they hurried to their room as they are going to miss a train.
The inn room was dark except for the low amber glow of a single mana-lamp and the moonlight slipping through the curtains. Seraphine stood outside the door on night-watch, as instructed. Inside, the air already felt thick.
Isolde set the black parcel on the bed like it was a birthday present. Ariana sat cross-legged on the sheets, still in her soft sleeping tunic, face already pink from anticipation and nerves. Oliver leaned against the headboard, arms folded, trying (and failing) to look casual.
Isolde tore the crimson ribbon with deliberate slowness.
"Time for show-and-tell."
First out: the rose-quartz wand. She flicked the rune. A low, steady hum filled the room.
Ariana's breath hitched.
Isolde crawled onto the bed, pushed Ariana flat on her back, and dragged the tunic up to her collarbone in one motion.
