The archives were never silent.

They whispered.

Callie felt it the moment she stepped inside: the way the air grew heavier against her lungs, the way the scent of dust, old leather, and forgotten ink clung to her skin as if it recognized her. This wing of the palace was older than the others, its stones worn smooth by generations of secrets no longer spoken aloud.

She had been assigned here without explanation.

Without reprimand. Without warning.

Just a simple order delivered by a junior b