Catherine led them through the manor's corridors, her hand still clasped around Alex's. The vial pulsed warmly in her other hand, casting faint prismatic light across the polished marble floors.
Victoria followed behind, her footsteps soft against the stone.
They turned down a side hallway Catherine rarely used... one that led to the private wing she'd claimed as her personal domain. The air here felt different, heavier with security measures and reinforced construction that spoke of serious privacy concerns.
Catherine stopped before an ornate door of dark mahogany, its surface carved with intricate patterns that seemed to shift in the low light.
"My office," she said simply, pushing it open.
The space beyond was exactly what one would expect from a heir of House Blackwood... and yet somehow more.
