The hallway leading to the royal library was quieter than usual. River's footsteps echoed, each one heavier than the last. Her fingers clutched the folds of her dress, her knuckles white from tension.
She was barely holding herself together. The Queen's declaration still rang in her ears.
The Ancestral Purity Testing.
Her body moved, but her mind spun with questions and fears she could no longer keep buried.
As she reached the heavy wooden doors of the library, they creaked open with a gentle push. The smell of aged parchment and dried herbs filled the air, familiar and comforting—yet today, everything felt off.
Mrs. Stella, the royal librarian and her teacher these past days, stood waiting near one of the ancient shelves, her posture tense. The wise, silver-haired she-wolf had always
