Chapter 38 She Bled For Me

• ~THORNE~
• The palace was cloaked in silence. Night had fallen hard, pressing its chill fingers through the stone walls. Outside, the wind howled like a mourning beast. Inside, the lanterns flickered in the draft, casting nervous shadows along the hall.
• I was kneeling. My legs ached beneath me, blood sluggish in my limbs. Omaru and Nikolai stood at either side, close enough to strike if I so much as flinched. The bruise on my lip pulsed, hot and sharp – an ugly souvenir from earlier. The pain had teeth. It bit deeper with every breath I took.