Each step I took echoed around me. My heart raced with nervous energy, my pulse thrumming in my ears louder than my footsteps. As I moved forward, I ran my hand along the cold wall, tracing the cracks of the stone. What if I found nothing here?
I took a deep breath. The scent was smoky and oddly sweet, like there was some exotic wood burning in a hearth nearby. The weight of the air felt like the ages of the castle’s past were bearing down on me at once.
Did it matter that I wanted answers from a place so revered? Did it care at all about the lives that it consumed? I thought of my mom, Annabelle, Cody, Skylar.
And me.
I needed this to tell me the truth—and if it did, I’d accept it. Even if I was the connection to all of it.
The door loomed before me; its dark wood was heavy with age but polished so that it gleamed like marble. Elegant designs were carved into the perimeter, barely visible in the pale moonlight. The closer I got, the thicker the air became. The desire to turn back was waxing, but I refused. I clenched my fists and forced my legs to move.
When the door was within reach, I took forced, shallow breaths. My fingers trembled as I touched the handle, twisting it firmly.
Locked.
A frustrated hiss escaped my lips. I knew this could’ve been a possibility. I reached for the thin metal tool I swiped from Isabella’s vanity. I slid it into the keyhole and twisted and prodded, hoping to hear something click.
I ground my teeth, and I tried the door again and again, but nothing I tried forced the lock. Growling under my breath, my jaw clenched as anger flared in my chest. My palm slammed against the wood, the sting vibrating up my arm.
“Open,” I snapped through gritted teeth, gripping the handle again and yanking. The door didn’t budge.
Desperation tightened my throat. I needed to get inside. My fingers curled around the handle, knuckles whitening as I twisted it violently, willing the damn thing to yield.
A sudden click echoed through the corridor.
I gasped, disbelief washing over me as the handle gave way beneath my grip. Slowly, I pushed the door inward. It swung open with a groan.
My breath hitched. I wasn’t sure what startled me more: the door finally opening, or the realization that it had unlocked seconds after I’d tried to force it.
I stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind me with a soft thud.
A fireplace glowed from across the room, the embers left to die in the night. Above it was a large map, framed in gold. The energy from the corridor was stronger here. I could feel it prickling along my skin as I took a tentative step into the room.
A long table stretched the length of the room. The polished wood gleamed in the pale moonlight that lit the scrolls, and thick leather-bound tomes lay scattered across its surface. A wine bottle stood untouched near the center, its deep red contents catching the light ominously. The scent of smoke, leather, and old parchment lingered in the air, earthy and unsettling.
I took another step, my boots muffled by the thick rug beneath me. The pressure in the room tightened around my ribs with every movement. Shadows crawled along the walls like an arachnidian sentinel. I felt watched, though I was alone—at least I hoped I was.
Part of me wanted to retreat to the safety beyond the door, but I couldn’t. My need for the truth was greater than my fear. I pressed on, inching closer to the table, my heart pounding hard enough that I feared it might burst.
The scrolls caught my attention first.
I reached out, brushed my fingertips on the rough surface, and unfurled the parchment before me. Valyrian script flowed across the parchment, the fine lines and curves written elegantly, but it made it hard to read. I scanned the page, halting at a picture drawn to near perfection within the text.
My face stared back at me. It was an older picture, but it was me. A bead of sweat dripped down my temple. The energy around me thickened, pressing harder against my chest.
I swallowed hard and reached for another scroll. This one was Riya.
I quickly opened them all, searching.
Isaac, Eli, Reece, Ji-Han, Isabella, and several of the other Initiates in a prior group.
The one scroll that remained was separate from the others. My hands shook, and I released the string around the parchment. Skylar’s likeness stared up at me from the ink, still and as I remembered her. My breath wracked my chest as I shut my eyes.
My heart was at war with itself. The pain of her absence, and not knowing if she was okay, was setting in, but the confirmation that she was real—it was too much. The pressure on my chest was suffocating me. I wasn’t sure how long I could stand being in this room.
But one was notably missing. Where was Cody?
The sound of the door shutting made my heart jolt.
