Chapter One: The Weight of Silence
The clock in the hall didn't tick; it thudded, a rhythmic heartbeat that filled the hollow spaces of the house. Mora sat at the vanity, staring at her reflection until her features felt like a stranger's.
"The blue silk tonight, I think," Zale said, appearing in the doorway. He didn't ask; he decided.
Mora didn't turn around. She watched his reflection approach her own. He placed his hands on her shoulders—wide, steady, and immovable. "You look tired, Mora. Have you been sleeping while I'm at the gallery?"
"I try," she whispered. "The silence here is… loud."
Zale leaned down, his face pressing against her hair. He inhaled deeply, as if he were trying to pull the very soul out of her. "It's peace. Most people spend their lives screaming for a moment of the quiet I've given you."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box. Inside sat a necklace—a heavy strand of black pearls that looked like a row of bruised eyes. He snapped it around her neck. The coldness of the stones made her shiver.
"There," Zale murmured. "Now you match the room."
A muffled sound came from downstairs—the heavy iron knocker hitting the front door. It was a sound that shouldn't happen. No one visited the estate without Zale's invitation.
Zale's grip on her shoulders tightened for a split second before his fingers went slack. His expression didn't change, but his eyes turned flinty.
"That will be Kael," Zale said, his voice dropping an octave. "He always did have a habit of stepping where he wasn't invited. Stay here, Mora. Don't come to the landing."
As Zale turned to leave, locking the bedroom door from the outside with a soft, metallic click, Mora looked back at the mirror. The black pearls felt like a hand around her throat