Chapter 280 Episode 280.

Wolf Realm:

Aire had barely stepped out of the east-wing sitting room when she heard someone calling her name.

"Aire."

She turned.

An older woman was walking toward her from the other end of the corridor.

Aire stared for a second. Then her face softened. "Madam."

Madam smiled. She reached her. She immediately took Aire’s hands. "Your Grace."

Aire smiled. "You came to see me."

"Of course I came to see you."

Madam looked her over. Her eyes moved from Aire’s face to her silver hair. Then back to her face.

"You look tired."

Aire sighed breathlessly. "I’m fine."

Madam squeezed her hands. "I heard what happened."

Aire’s smile faded slightly.

Madam shook her head. "Everyone has been talking about it."

Aire looked down. "He woke up."

"I know." Madam took in a soft breath. "We also heard you suffered a few challanges."

Aire said nothing to that.

Madam looked at her for another moment. "How are you?"

Aire hesitated. "I’m okay."

Madam raised a brow, and then she pulled her gently toward the window. "You have changed." She mumured observantly.

Aire glanced at her. "How?"

Madam looked at her silver hair. "You used to look at everyone as though you were waiting for them to tell you to leave."

Aire’s smile faded.

Madam continued. "Now you look at people as though you are waiting to see if they need something."

Aire didn’t know what to say.

Madam patted her hand. "You’re grown."

Aire looked through the window.

Outside, the castle grounds were quiet.

"I don’t feel like I have."

"That doesn’t mean you haven’t."

Aire smiled faintly. "I missed you."

Madam’s expression softened. The guilt wrapped around her heart slowly lossened. "I missed you too."

She looked toward the east wing. "How is Prince Alaric?"

"Still weak."

Madam stepped closer. And then, Aire saw something.

A flash.

White.

Aire blinked.

Madam was still standing in front of her. "Aire?"

Aire stared at her. "Did you say something?"

Madam frowned. "No."

Aire looked around. There was nothing. The corridor was exactly the same.

"What is it?"

"I..."

Aire shook her head. "Nothing."

Madam studied her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Aire looked back at her. Then it happened again.

White. She saw a mountain of snow.

Something moved.

Aire blinked. The image was gone. She stared at Madam. Her heart beat faster.

Madam frowned.

Aire rubbed her temple. "Something just..."

She stopped.

Madam touched her arm. "Are you feeling sick?"

"No."

Aire looked down the corridor. There was nothing there. She breathed slowly. Maybe she was tired.

Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

She had barely slept. She had been dealing with Alaric. Her magic. The witches. Her memories, and everything.

Maybe she was simply exhausted.

Madam squeezed her arm. "You should rest."

"I will."

"Promise?"

Aire smiled softly. "I promise."

Madam nodded.

And it happened a third time. White. A cage filled with snow, and a pair of hands.

Aire’s eyes widened.

The image disappeared.

She grabbed Madam’s arm. "Wait."

Madam stopped. "What happened?"

Aire stared at her. Her breathing was shallow.

Madam’s expression changed. "Are you alright?"

"Just don’t go yet." Aire looked around. She closed her eyes briefly when the feeling keot tugging at her.

She opened them again.

Madam watched her carefully. "Perhaps you should sit."

"No." Aire shook her head. "Something is wrong."

"What is, Aire?"

Aire shook her head, dejected. "I don’t know." She stepped away, and looked toward the end of the corridor.

Her heart was beating faster now. She didn’t understand what she had seen. It had lasted for less than a second.

But something about it had felt wrong, and urgent. Like something was trying to reach her.

Madam touched her shoulder. "Aire."

Madam’s voice brought her attention back to the corridor.

Aire looked at her.

"You’re frightening me."

"I’m sorry."

"Then tell me what’s happening."

Aire opened her mouth, but no explanation came.

She couldn’t tell Madam that she had just seen a cage buried beneath snow. Or a pair of hands that looked painfully swollen. She didn’t even know whether what she had seen was real.

But the feeling hadn’t gone away.

It was still there.

A faint tug somewhere beneath her ribs.

Aire turned her head towards the corridor.

Madam followed her. "Aire?"

"Just come with me."

She didn’t walk quickly at first. She moved past the tall windows, then towards the narrower passage that led to the older guest quarters.

The feeling grew stronger.

Aire slowed down.

She had been through this part of the castle before, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had come this way.

There were several rooms along the corridor. Some were occupied by visiting nobles, while others had remained empty for months.

She stopped in front of one of the doors.

Her hand hovered over the handle. Something about the room felt familiar to the images.

The snow, and the hands.

Aire swallowed. She knew who stayed here. There would never be a reality where Adele would be trapped in the vision she saw.

"Who stayed here?" She asked, for confirmation purposes.

Madam considered it. "Lady Blackfen. Why?"

Aire didn’t answer.

She opened the door.

The room was empty.

The curtains had been drawn halfway, allowing a narrow strip of afternoon light to fall across the carpet. The bed had been made, and the furniture was arranged neatly. Someone had removed most of the personal belongings, but a few signs of its previous occupant remained.

Aire stepped inside.

She didn’t know what she expected to find.

Perhaps nothing. Perhaps she was simply exhausted, and the strange images meant nothing at all.

But the moment she crossed the threshold, the feeling inside her shifted. It was stronger here.

Aire moved towards the bed.

There was a small mark on the wooden bedside table, as though something heavy had been dragged across it. A faint scratch ran along the edge.

She touched it, and she saw another flash.

Now, clearly, she saw Adele’s hands clawing at something.

Aire jerked her fingers away. "Your Grace?"

Madam stood near the doorway. She stepped further into the room.

Aire turned towards her. "When did the Blackfens leave?"

Madam blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. Her eyes softened. "About a month ago. Is something wrong, Aire?"