Irina's steps were light as she left the dining room, her heart lifting in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. The cold, lingering tension of her breakfast with the Matriarch seemed to fade behind her, replaced by a rare sense of satisfaction.
'Well,' she thought, a small, triumphant smile pulling at her lips, 'it appears Mother underestimated me today.'
Her gaze wandered through the grand, silent corridors of the Emberheart mansion, the echoes of her footsteps a steady rhythm that matched her thoughts. She had known from the beginning that her mother would see through her intentions, the subtle maneuvering that allowed her to "request" free time without suspicion. But that was exactly why she had led the conversation there, planting the idea firmly in her mother's mind before broaching her true desire—to meet Astron in person, without subterfuge or deceit.
