Lumina slipped out of the chamber door with the stealth of a shadow, her bare feet padding silently on the cool marble floor.
She paused for a moment, listening to Ashen's steady breathing from within the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest confirming he had finally succumbed to exhaustion after their intense encounter.
The air in the hallway carried the faint scent of incense from the palace braziers, but it did little to ease the storm brewing in her chest.
Her blindfold concealed eyes that burned with a crimson glow, a sign of her simmering power, though no one could see it.
She straightened her robe and stepped forward.
There, blocking her path like an unwelcome sentinel, stood the king's aide, the wiry man with a neatly trimmed beard and eyes that darted nervously.
He bowed slightly, but his posture betrayed unease, fingers twitching at the hem of his embroidered tunic.
