Chapter 11 The Shadows In The Walls

• They locked me in the northern dormitory before sunrise.
• It wasn’t a cell—not exactly. But it felt like one. Thick stone walls, barred windows, and a single silver lantern that never went out. The Elders called it containment. I called it a gilded cage. Every inch of the room whispered confinement, and the air smelled faintly of dust and old magic. Even the silence pressed against my ears like a living thing.
• Lucien had tried to argue on my behalf, pleading with the Elders. But their decision was final. I was alone, or so I thought.