Madness

The distance was better than getting hurt—than loosing control completely. I watched her from a distance as she familiarized herself with the surroundings of the skull palace. I couldn't help it. Just one glance at her was enough to steady me for the rest of the day. Still the whispers never stopped. Only grew louder but I couldn't hear the words— couldn't make sense of it.

I knew what was coming but I wasn't ready to face it.

The next day. Still no sleep. The exhaustion clung to me like a second skin, my movements slower, my patience thinner. My body felt tight, like my skin was holding back something desperate to escape.

Kaleb noticed. Of course, he always did.

"You look even worse than before," Kaleb muttered, standing at my side in the war room. The table between us was littered with reports, maps, and unfinished documents, but I hadn't absorbed a single word. My mind kept slipping—drifting in and out of somewhere else.