•Palace Forest•
[Ann's POV]
Lady Ovelia was safely in her room. I had made sure of it before I left—checked the locks, checked the windows, checked the shadows where no one ever thought to look. Then I slipped through the palace corridors and out into the garden, moving fast and silent, staying clear of the guards' patrol routes.
No one followed me. No one saw me leave.
The palace forest loomed ahead, dark and vast, the trees swallowing what remained of the evening light. I stepped inside and let the shadows close over me. The air was cooler here, heavy with the scent of damp earth and pine needles.
I walked deeper, my feet carrying me past familiar landmarks—the twisted oak with its lightning-scarred trunk, the clearing where wild mushrooms grew in pale clusters, the stream that glittered silver under the moon.
