Tabitha’s pov
I pulled the heavy woolen hood low over my face, slipping silently past the rear pantry door into the midnight shadow of the laundry wing.
My heart hammered against my ribs, each thud sending a dull, burning ache through the blackening mark on my neck. The wind whipped through the stone archways, bringing the sharp smell of rain and wet earth, but I didn't slow down. I knew the guard shifts better than anyone in this estate now. I had spent three weeks memorizing every rotation, every lantern sweep, every ten-minute window when the lower postern gate stood unmonitored.
I ducked behind the rain barrels, waited for Bram’s patrol to round the corner toward the stable perimeter, and slipped through the wooden latch.
The dark forest swallowed me instantly.
I ran through the m
