FINNIAN

Night wrapped the palace like a cold cloak, silent except for the whisper of torches outside. I walked down the stone steps into the lower halls, each footstep echoing sharply. The farther I went, the more the air smelled of damp earth and blood.

Guards stood still, their eyes lowered, nobody daring to meet mine. They knew where I was going. They knew I was not supposed to go there. And they still stepped away from the door when they saw how dark my eyes had gone.

I reached the ...