The subterranean chamber held onto its silence long after Merlin's footsteps had faded up the stone stairwell.
Emily stood alone , her chest rising and falling with a steady, rhythm as the last of the lingering current dissipated around her.
She reached down, picked up her sweaty cloth, and thoughtfully draped the black silk blindfold over her shoulder.
The scent of ozone and scorch marks washeavy in the damp air—a familiar smell, now, after several weeks buried in the subterranean depths beneath Merlin's estate.
She climbed the narrow, winding spiral stairwell that led out of the training cellar, feeling her muscles ache with a deep, satisfying heat.
Emily stepped out into the sunlit conservatory on the ground floor. The abupt transition from the subterranean gloom to the flooded morning light made her squint.
