Page 63 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

The dimly lit halls stretch ahead of me, their stillness more haunting than before.

Jayden knew something.

And now he’s gone.

And Charles—

The thought hits me like a sledgehammer.

I never got an answer about Charles.

Jayden left. Charles is missing.

And Dominic refused to tell me why.

I press my fingers against my temples, trying to piece together the fragments of a puzzle that doesn’t make sense yet.

I should go to my room. Stay patient. But I can’t.

I won’t.

My feet move of their own accord, leading me down the corridor toward Dominic’s office. The door is closed, but I know it’s never locked—not from the inside, at least. My fingers tremble slightly as I wrap them around the brass handle.

I hesitate for only a second before pushing it open. I step inside, the door clicking shut behind me.

Then—I see it.

A small box sits on the center of his desk. Plain. Unassuming.

Except for the way the wood is stained dark in places, the way something inside it leaks, leaving small, ominous drops of deep crimson against the polished mahogany.

My breath catches in my throat.

I take a step closer, the floor beneath me feeling unsteady, like I’m walking straight into a trap.

My fingers tremble as I reach out—slowly, carefully—until they graze the edge of the box. It’s damp. Sticky. My stomach turns.

Swallowing against the rising nausea, I pry the lid open.

And then—

I scream.

The sound rips from my throat, raw and uncontrolled, echoing off the walls. My vision blurs as I stagger back, the force of my own horror knocking me off balance. The box slips from my hands, tumbling to the floor.

The contents spill out, hitting the polished wood with a sickening thud.

A severed finger, wrapped in blood-soaked cloth.

My knees buckle. My breath comes in shallow, panicked gasps. The bile rises in my throat, my stomach twisting with unbearable pain.

The blood—so much blood.

It stains the cloth, seeps into the fibers, pools at the edges. The coppery scent fills the air, thick and stifling, wrapping around me like a vice.

I shake my head, forcing my eyes shut, but the image is burned into my mind.

No. No. No.

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