Chapter 4 SHADOWS OF THE PAST

The air in the grand foyer still felt heavy, the sound of the stranger leaving hanging in the quiet. Celestine's heart thumped hard in her chest, her head spinning with questions she didn't dare spit out. Lucien stood next to her, staring at the shut doors. His face didn't give much away, but she could see the tightness in his jaw, the way his shoulders stiffened-like he was holding something back. She turned to him, forcing her voice to stay even. "Who was he?" Lucien didn't say a word. He just let out a slow breath and started walking toward the stairs.

"Lucien," she snapped, her fists balling up. He stopped at the bottom step, but didn't look back. "Forget him," he said, his voice cold as frost. "He's nobody." Bullshit. She knew he was lying the second it came out of his mouth. She'd caught something in his eyes-something he didn't let slip often. Fear. Whoever that guy was, he wasn't nobody. And somehow, she was tied to him. Before she could push harder, Lucien kept going, vanishing down the hall. Celestine stayed put, her mind buzzing. Those silver eyes stuck with her, digging into some deep part of her she couldn't name. A memory locked away, just out of her grasp. Had she seen him before? How could she have? She didn't have a life before this damn palace. Or did she? A soft voice cut through her thoughts. "My lady?" She turned and saw Alina hovering by the side door. The girl's face was white as a sheet, her eyes flicking between Celestine and the stairs where Lucien had gone. Celestine sucked in a slow breath, pulling herself together. "Yeah?" Alina paused, then dipped into a quick, shaky bow. "I- I've got something to show you." Celestine gave her a long look. Fear was written all over the girl's face. But underneath it, there was something tougher. Guts. Without saying more, Alina turned and waved for her to come along. Celestine had a choice. Play it safe, or dig deeper. She glanced back at the empty stairs one last time. Then she followed.

Celestine trailed Alina through the shadowy halls, her bare feet silent on the chilly marble. Alina clutched a single candle, its shaky flame throwing wobbly shadows across the stone walls. They headed deeper into the palace, slipping past the servants' rooms and cluttered storage spaces, down a narrow passage Celestine didn't even know existed. The air turned sharp and cold, thick with the smell of wet rock. "Where are you taking me?" Celestine murmured, her voice so low it barely stirred the stillness.