C215 SHE WAS NEVER JUST A GUEST

Aria did not sleep.

The bed was lovely, draped in fabric better than anything she had ever touched, yet her body resisted slumber. The Blood-Fed Kingdom breathed differently at night. The air thickened, heavy with suppressed feelings, with creatures who pretended hunger was a discipline rather than a curse.

She stood by the window long after the moon rose.

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