The air is thick and cold as I move through the shadowed corridors of Thalira's fortress. Every step feels like it echoes through the walls, even though I tread as lightly as possible, my boots barely brushing the stone floor.
Leora's wards guide me soft, glimmering threads of light only I can see, weaving a path through the maze of halls and chambers. I follow them, my heart pounding in my chest, a drumbeat of fear and urgency.
The fortress is a twisted nightmare of stone and shadow. The walls are lined with dark, jagged carvings that seem to writhe and shift as I pass, like a living, breathing thing. The air is heavy, thick with the stench of old blood and dark magic.
It feels like the walls themselves are closing in, pressing down on me, trying to crush me under their weight. I force myself to focus, to breathe, to push the fear aside. I have to keep moving. I have to find Eileen.
