Amara's POV

A maid, dressed in a simple black and white uniform, materialized from the shadows and led me through the halls. We arrived at a study, a room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and she gestured for me to sit on a plush leather armchair. A moment later, she returned with a silver tray, a delicate teacup filled with a fragrant liquid steaming gently.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," she said, her voice soft and polite, before disappearing as silently as she had ...