Pearl’s POV
The bathhouse stood quiet when I arrived, its wooden doors half-open as if it had been waiting for me. The lanterns along the walls burned low, casting long shadows across the polished floors and the faint steam curling from the pools within. I pushed the door shut behind me, exhaling slowly as silence wrapped around me like a cloak.
Finally,
For the first time in days, I had a moment without watchful eyes, without whispers, without the weight of Rowan’s voice in my ear. Just water, warmth, and solitude.
I set down my basin near the edge of the pool, the soaps neatly lined. My fingers worked at the ties of my cloak, slipping it from my shoulders. The soft rustle of fabric echoed in the chamber as I unfastened the rest of my clothes, layer by layer, the cool air brushing aga
