Raven could not understand how matters had escalated to such an extent that not a single moment of the day had passed in peace, and she found herself thinking of a time when her family would sit together and speak without restraint, sharing the kind of ordinary warmth that did not need to be questioned, yet now even the smallest exchange carried weight and silence had taken the place of what once felt natural.
She had informed them of her arrival well in advance, the message had been clear and the time precise, yet no one had been there to receive her, and although she told herself that they must have waited and eventually retired for the night because they could not stay awake any longer, the emptiness of the hall had already given her an answer she did not wish to accept.
