[Leif's POV—ThorenVald Estate, Dawn After the Corruption]
The night refused to end.
The candles had burned themselves to ghosts, their wax spilling down the table like melted bones. Every corridor in the ThorenVald estate still smelled faintly of ash and antiseptic. Outside, dawn was trying to rise—soft and pale—but inside these walls, light didn't feel welcome.
Nick still lay in the healer wing, breathing in a shallow, stubborn rhythm. Zephyy hadn't moved from his bedside all night, tail flicking every few seconds like a silent metronome of anxiety.
And me? I couldn't sleep.
Because how could I—when I had let the devil walk straight through my door?
The frost was spreading across the balcony window, each tendril of ice crawling upward like the world was freezing from the inside out. Every breath fogged the glass, then vanished too quickly—like even the air didn't want to stay near me for long.
