Chapter 57

Isabella

The air inside the greenhouse felt too still, like even the leaves were holding their breath. It was humid, but not warm. The kind of heavy dampness that clung to your skin and made your hair stick to the back of your neck. It smelled like damp soil, cut stems, and something faintly sour, like overripe fruit someone forgot to throw out.

The dim lighting described my world so perfectly. I had no idea the full picture, but I had little light, enough to see through for the next step, and hopefully that’s the needed step.

The plants had overgrown, some ran wild over the walls. Moss had crept along the stone path. It would’ve been beautiful in daylight. Maybe even peaceful. But now, under this hour, it looked like something forgotten. No. Not forgotten. It looked like a nightmare. As though every one of them were crying out to me to reason. To think, to run, maybe. To be careful. And just when I thought I was finally getting used to all of this, somethin