Chapter 97: Whispers in the Dark
Evaline:
The morning sun was filtering through the tall windows of the Council headquarters as I walked down the familiar corridors.
The building always looked so grand and cold with its white marble floors, high ceilings, and that distant hush that never quite left, even when people were talking.
It was Saturday again. A full month since I had started my internship.
I received my first month’s pay just two days ago, and while it wasn’t a large sum, it felt... satisfying. Empowering, even. It was more than enough to give me some independence and the feeling that I was finally building something of my own. I hadn’t grown up with money or resources. Every bit I earned now was mine and mine alone, and that gave me a quiet sense of pride.
Since I didn’t have many expenses - no rent, no food, no clothes obsession, no constant need for new gadgets - it was easy to put eighty percent of it aside as saving.
I needed to earn and save money, and I needed to do it before the end of first term.
River didn’t show up at all throughout the day and a large part of me was relieved. I didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with him, especially not in the very place where I was trying to build a professional identity.
Without him, my workload was light. Too light, in fact. I spent more time organizing old reports than handling anything real, which would have bothered me if I hadn’t been in desperate need of a quiet day.
But something else was nagging at me.
The reports from last week... the missing warriors... it was as if none of it had ever happened.