Chapter 307

• The three of us hurried down the dimly lit corridor within the castle’s towering walls. The distant murmurs of excited maids and bustling servants preparing for the ball filtered through the air, mingling with the faint hum of guests beginning to arrive. My heels clicked sharply against the polished stone floor, the sound echoing in a rhythmic cadence that seemed almost too loud for the tense silence between us.
• “She disappeared at the doors leading to the valley,” Noemi said breathlessly, her lavender dress gathered in her hands as she quickened her pace. “If she left the castle grounds, the forest will hide her. We’ll never—”
• Her words cut off abruptly as she skidded to a halt. The only warning was the sharp, venom-laced tone of Marinella’s voice drifting down the hall.