[WARNING! Unedited! Don't buy!]
The idea settled into her bones gradually—not the danger, but the inevitability. A school carved out of shadows. Creatures bound by rules rather than conscience. Alistair navigating its halls with the same cold grace he carried everywhere else.
And her—walking beside him, marked, protected, labeled.
"I never imagined this would be my life," she murmured.
Alistair glanced at her. "Nor did I."
That admission startled her.
"When do we leave?" Caroline asked.
"At dawn."
Selene winced. "Of course it's dawn."
She looked between them, then nodded once, decisive. "Fine. I'll go."
Alistair's gaze sharpened. "You are certain?"
"No," she said honestly. "But I'm curious. And apparently that's a survival trait now."
A faint, genuine smile touched his lips.
"Welcome, then," he said, voice low, "to Covens of Midnight."
The fire flared as though in acknowledgment.
