✦ Chapter 31 ✦
When Philip and Elian reached the library, Philip drew the key from his sleeve and slipped it into the lock with practiced ease. The mechanism turned with a low, ancient click, as though the door itself had been waiting for them. Philip pushed it open, and Elian's breath left him in a quiet, reverent exhale.
The library unfolded before them like something born of legend rather than stone and mortar.
Every room in the castle had felt unreal to Elian—too vast, too carefully crafted, as though the world itself had been reshaped by myth and memory—but this place eclipsed them all. It was not merely a room filled with books; it felt like a sanctuary, a place where time slowed and history breathed softly through the walls.
Elian stepped inside hesitantly, as if afraid the illusion might shatter beneath his feet.
