Chapter 55; Ember light the way

* chapter glossary *

+ Aetherium— hospital or clinic

+ Teldrin — Doctor

ARWYN'S POV

Chaos reigned in the Aetherium. Servants rushed up and down, the slap of their footsteps echoing against the cold stone walls as they carried buckets of water. The healers moved frantically, doing all they could to revive the stricken. The once quiet halls of the palace now felt like a battlefield against an unseen enemy.

The Plague had swept through the palace like a thief in the night, its reach swift and merciless. Guards, servants—no one was safe. Already, some had fallen to its grasp, and the rest waited in fear, their faces pale with the certainty that death lingered nearby.

I tied a strip of cloth around my nose and mouth before stepping into the Aetherium, clutching a bucket of water. The air was heavy with the acrid stench of vomit and decay, thick enough to cling to the skin. The torches, dimly flickering against the walls, cast long shadows across the stone floor, making the scene even m