Chapter 69: Attack
Grimfall.
Einar took a step forward, his movements calm, deliberate, and surreal. The air around him grew heavy as he placed his hand on the kneeling girl’s head.
His fingers traced the curve of her chin, tilting her face toward him. His pitch-black eyes gleamed with an eerie light, an abyss that consumed all. When he spoke, his voice no longer bore the tone of a man—it was something ancient, something accursed.
"Go," he commanded, his words resonating with unnatural power. "Corrupt the others of this realm."
Livia gave a single nod, her obedience unquestioning. Without hesitation, she rose and sprinted out of the house, her silhouette vanishing into the night.
Left alone in the darkness, Einar’s lips curled into a knowing smile. The next instant, his figure faded into nothingness.
...
Back at the Castle
Tauriel tossed and turned in her bed, unable to find peace. No matter how she positioned herself, rest eluded her. Frustration set in, and with an annoyed groan, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess, her face groggy with exhaustion.
’I guess I should take a walk.’
With a sigh, she got out of bed and stepped into the dimly lit corridor. The grand halls of the castle loomed around her, eerily silent at this late hour. She trudged forward, yawning, torn between the desperate need for sleep and the strange compulsion to stay awake.