Chapter 101 — Clara’s Shadow

Clara did not dream anymore.

Sleep came in fragments—thin, shallow things that broke the moment she closed her eyes too tightly. When rest did claim her, it was empty. No images. No warmth. No memories stitched together into meaning.

Just darkness.

Not the comforting kind.

Not the kind that comes before dawn.

This darkness watched.

She lay awake most nights in the small chamber Nightshade had given her. Not a prison—but not freedom either. Stone walls. ...