Callie was summoned before the palace slept.

Not after, but before.

That small distinction mattered. It meant Darian wanted her alert, attentive, aware of every second she spent waiting. It meant anticipation was part of the lesson.

She stood outside the chamber, taking several deep breaths before entering, her palms damp, her back straight, her mind steady. The door opened silently at her touch.

The room was dimly lit; not dark, but deliberately so. Firelight reflected off the stone walls, casting shadows that moved like living beings. There was no furniture in the center of the chamber. Nowhere to sit. Nowhere to hide.

Darian waited near the far wall.

"Close the door," he said.

She obeyed.

The sound echoed: definitive, enveloping. Her heart followed, beating too fast, too loud.

He didn't move toward her. That was the first cruelty.

Instead, Darian pointed to the center of the room. "Stay there." She moved into the open space, suddenly aware of how exposed she was under his