Victoria reached for the door.
And stopped.
Something felt wrong. Too easy. After everything she had been through....the searching, the fighting, the corruption....finding Thalia should not be this simple.
Victoria examined the door more closely.
And saw it.
Wards. Powerful ones. Woven into the wood and stone so subtly she had almost missed them.
Wards designed to do what exactly?
Victoria extended her magical senses carefully.
The wards were....
Traps.
Designed to trigger if anyone except Thalia tried to open the door. Designed to kill or maim or trap whoever was foolish enough to try.
Of course Thalia would protect her hiding place.
Of course she would not make it easy even after Victoria had found her.
Victoria stepped back and looked at the building.
She could try to break through the wards. But that would take time and energy she could not spare. Would probably alert Thalia to her presence in a way that put Victoria at a disadvantage.
Or....
