{VAL}
I stepped deeper into the mansion, my presence concealed beneath layers of arcane shadow.
The grand hallway stretched before me, illuminated by crimson chandeliers that mimicked dripping blood.
Laughter echoed from distant rooms—careless, drunken, cruel.
They celebrated while corpses cooled.
My boots made no sound against the marble floor as I moved like a ghost through the halls. Every servant I passed remained oblivious. Every guard stared straight through me.
Good.
I preferred it this way.
This was one of the many Evernight estate. This one belonged to Sol. Once had once been magnificent—a symbol of power and prestige. Now it reeked of decay, rot festering beneath gilded walls. Silk tapestries hid dark stains. Golden goblets overflowed with stolen life.
This was not a home.
It was a graveyard pretending to be a palace.
