This chapter is dedicated to Jennifer McKern. Thank you for being here. ✨️💫
...
Aire did not expect the hall to look the way she saw it.
She had imagined something grand, yes. Something worthy of a Luna, yes. Something polished, decorated, and intentional, yes.
But this?
This felt like stepping into something that did not belong to the living.
Madam walked ahead with practiced grace. Her posture was straight, and her expression remained composed as always. Mabel followed just a step behind her. Her presence was softer but no less deliberate.
Aire came after them, and then, she stopped. The moment her foot crossed the threshold, everything else fell away, and she was the first to stop walking.
The hall stretched endlessly before her. High ceilings arched like the inside of a cathedral, and painted in soft ivory and gold that caught the light from above. Chandeliers hung like frozen stars, layered in delicate crystals that reflected a warm glow across the entire room.
