Recruitment.

As the two guards recognized Tobias and his cargo, they pulled open the towering doors without a word.

The moment Amari stepped inside, something shifted. The air, thick and unnatural, pressed against his lungs. The mansion's interior glowed with a haunting kind of beauty—crystal chandeliers, black marble floors, paintings of ancestors or ghosts lining every hall.

Amari barely had time to absorb the grandeur when the sound of heels echoed above.

At the top of the staircase, a woman appeared—draped in a sweeping white fur coat, long silver earrings catching the candlelight. Her platinum hair was pulled tight, her posture that of royalty carved from ice.

She stared down at Amari with poised scrutiny.

Then, softly, she smiled.

"You should not be staring into my eyes, boy." (Russian)

Before he could blink, Amari's knees buckled.