er
Wing was a wor
t was quiet and secluded, surrounded by old pine trees that whisp
rs ago and managed by the stern, watchful housekeeper Clara Finch, moved like ghosts. They w
The room was masculine, decorated in shades of charcoal and deep blue. It smelled of cedar and
y, a heavy, dreamles
save for the soft glow of a single lamp I'd left on by the bedside. A de
caught in
ony doors. It was tall, broad, and moved with a silence that w
dn't scream. I didn't move. I feigned sleep, my eyelids fluttering slightly,
a giant carved from night. He stood there for a long moment, simply looking down at m
. Was this an assassin? Someone sent by Mer
f his face, as if a veil had been placed over it
ts are in
g like it was about to explode from my chest. I smelled a
the blanket. I felt a strange stinging sensation o
lance, only catching a glimpse of his back, not his face. He picked up the wine from the remai
's apple bobbing, and drank it down in a long,
soft, dull thud of silver hitting wood
movement. A soft sound escaped my lips, a
as a predator, poised to strike, whether to fight or flee. I forced my breathing to b
ere, a vaguely visible presence behind me. I awaited the cold touch of
lightly. He pulled up the heavy qu
gentle, that it sent chills down my spine,
focus on the sounds in the room. I heard nothing. No fading footsteps, no clic
hours had passed, my body
don't drink. Ghosts don't
unknown
ream through the window, I dared not sit up. M
glass i
t's e
s clotted.
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