LYRA

I slipped past the guards outside my chamber using tricks the Crimson Veil had taught me years ago, timing my movement to when their attention drifted and staying in shadows that concealed my presence. The corridors were mostly empty this late, just occasional patrols I avoided by taking servants' passages that connected parts of the castle nobles rarely acknowledged existed.

The chapel sat in the oldest section of the building, stone walls that predated the current structure and held ...