Chapter 167

Darius

The storm began just before dawn, cold, sharp, relentless.

From my study, I could hear the wind rattling the windowpanes, the old house groaning under its weight. A perfect morning for silence, for control, for order. And yet, all I could feel was something off, a tension humming through the halls like static.

I tried to ignore it at first.

Tried to focus on the reports laid out before me, on the routes, the names, the trade shifts that usually kept my world in motion. But every instinct I had told me something was wrong.

By the time Bianca entered the room, the truth was already crawling up the back of my neck.

“Good morning,” I said without looking up. “Tell Alaria to be ready by evening. I want her at dinner again. I believe that this should be a better option for her at this point. Keeping herself locked is not going to get her anywhere.”

The silence that followed was unnatural. I looked up slowly, and saw Bianca standing i