Gilded scars

He was a man who seemed to know everything about everyone, yet remained an enigma himself. The polished veneer of

ng over the delicate filigree. It felt like more than just a key to a

to echo his authority, from the gilded mirrors to the marble floors. But beneath the grandeur, s

s. The key inside was unlike any I'd ever seen bronze, with a spiral pattern etched into its bo

ords again: "A place

ething more tangible? My pulse quickened as

a had insisted I stay in, the heavy velvet curtains drawn shut against the encroaching night. The

he door pulled me

voice was gent

mple silk robe. She looked younger, less like the vibrant woman I'd met ea

I com

pping aside a

gers idly tracing the hem of her robe. "I wan

to put it," I sa

xpression darkening slightly.

tiously. "What's

epends," she said quietly, her usual levity

oes tha

f stories, of people, of power. That room is his most prized possession because it holds e

down my spine. "And h

se. But be careful. That room isn't just a place it's a

gain, the question

r sees something in you. Something he can use, or maybe something he fea

don't trust everything you see, Emma. My father's power lies in his

th the key, her word

e air around it was heavy, as though the door itself was alive, watching me, waiting. The bro

with objects that seemed ordinary at first glance but radiated an almost magnetic pull

air before a storm. My gaze returned to the open book on the table, the

y begins wi

e room shifted. The light flickered, and a faint whisper filled the air in

per came again,

bjects, and the dim light are all unchanged. My heart pounde

blank pages, written as though by an invisible hand. I

dows dance as one. Choose wisely, for w

e of urgency that seemed to emanate from the room itself. Th

ain, louder, sharper. "Em

ice was unmistaka

rating through the room like a thunderclap. I ran to it, pulling at the

air with an eerie melody. The light dimmed further until the room was

this time it wasn't Clara. It was dee

ied, and the words on th

ory begi

ncompassing. My last thought before everythin

I just