I walked into Ian's mother's chambers expecting something normal for once… which, in hindsight, was a very stupid expectation.
Nothing about Ian had ever been normal, so why in the world did I think his mother would be?
The Palace maids had anounced that she was calling me and the moment the doors opened, I felt it. The Magic. It was a Thick, quiet, suffocating magic that didn't press on the skin but rather seeped into the bones. The room itself was dim, not dark, but softly lit by floating orbs of pale violet light that drifted lazily like they had nowhere better to be. Curtains of sheer fabric hung from the ceiling, shifting even though there was no wind, and the scent of incense curled through the air in slow, deliberate spirals.
I hesitated at the entrance.
"Ah… so this is where the weirdness comes from," I muttered under my breath, instinctively placing a hand over my stomach.
"Nalia."
