Lucrezia disguised it with another smile, though this one didn't quite reach her eyes. Nalia smiled, and for a few moments, the two of them continued down the passage in comfortable silence.
They passed a small window overlooking the eastern courtyard. The snow had begun to fall more heavily, gathering along the stone ledges and covering the narrow paths below. Beyond the courtyard, the mountains disappeared into a thick curtain of mist.
Lucrezia slowed. Something about the view unsettled her.
It was not the snow or the darkness. It was the sense of distance. Blackvale seemed isolated from the rest of the world, sealed away behind its mountains and ancient protections.
She wondered how easily someone could disappear here. Or how easily something could enter without anyone noticing.
The thought brought her back to the conversation with Nalia. "Have the servants ever seen the… phantoms?" Her voice was quiet when she asked.
