Chapter 66. Echoes of the Past

Lotus’s POV

The library is almost silent. Only the slow crackle of the hearth and the whisper of snow against the windows disturb the stillness. Dust floats through the slanted light like tiny ghosts, and the scent of old parchment wraps around me like a blanket. It is warm, familiar, and almost safe.

Almost.

I’ve come here every night since the funeral. The others think it’s to read, to lose myself in the quiet, but that isn’t true. I come because the silence is the only thing that doesn’t ask me to be strong. Because the books don’t look at me with pity in their eyes.

We can’t find Alister. It is as if he has disappeared into nothing. And while the fighting has died down, and the women are safe, I keep holding my breath. I know none of this is over until he is gone.

I pull another tome from the shelf, Histories of the First Bloodline, and carry it to the long oak table. My fingers trace the faded lettering on the cover. It’s one of the few text