Chapter 88

**Evangeline's POV**

When I reached the throne room, it was empty.

No Silas waiting with accusations. No guards ready to drag me away. Just silence and the smell of something that made my stomach twist with unexpected hunger.

Food.

Real food, not the bitter shadow fruit that usually appeared on my table. The scent drifted from somewhere deeper in the palace, warm and rich and completely out of place in this realm of darkness.

I followed the ...