That night, when the summons came, Metheea's stomach tightened. Azrayel's office.
The very thought of being alone with him in that vast chamber made her skin prickle. She had tried to avoid such moments, yet she could not this time. She needed answers. She needed to know about the lands Marlick had spoken of.
She pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside. The room swallowed her at once. To the left loomed a massive iron-banded door plastered with pinned parchments, maps curling at the edges. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling, their spines glinting in the firelight. A hearth roared with steady flame, the crackle of burning wood filling the silence. The tall windows looked out onto the garden, and beyond that, the meadow and the sleeping town scattered with lanterns like fallen stars.
