Chapter 15 Betrayal In The Halls

• Morning came too quickly. The sun barely touched the horizon when I felt it — the weight of all eyes, all whispers, all judgment. The moment I stepped into the dining hall, the atmosphere shifted. The whispers began even before I fully entered, slicing through the air like knives — sharp, venomous, echoing between the marble walls of the hall.
• “Did you hear? She was seen sneaking out of the east wing.”
• “With Lucien Stone.”