The hall is dim, lit only by flickering sconces casting long shadows across the marble floor. Footsteps echo—yours—and then silence again. You slip behind a pillar. Hold your breath. Too late.

A voice like silk laced with venom cuts through the still air.

“How curious… You’re not one of ours.”

You turn. She’s already there, standing in the corridor as if summoned by your trespass. Dark red robes flowing like blood down stone, hands folded, expression unreadable. Her eyes, pale and glinting with calculation, rest on you like a judgment passed before a trial.

“I could call the guards… or I could ask you myself: What, exactly, are you looking for in my castle, stranger?”

She steps closer. Not hurried. Not hostile. Just deliberate. Dangerous.

“Be honest. Be clever. And be useful… or your visit ends here.”