Chapter 18 Blood In The Shadows

• The manor was quiet, too quiet. Mira had grown used to its silence, but that night the air carried something heavy, something foreign, as though the walls themselves held their breath.
• A storm whispered outside, rain pattering against the tall windows, shadows moving like restless phantoms across the marble floors. The flames in the sconces flickered, bending unnaturally, and Mira’s skin prickled as if unseen fingers trailed down her spine.
• She was alone in the library, tracing her fingers across the spines of old tomes, trying to distract herself from the echo of fever dreams that had tormented her since the bond began stirring in her blood. Her pulse was still erratic, her breath shallow at times, but she had convinced Cassian to let her wander. He had been overbearing since the fever, watching her as though she might shatter at the slightest touch.