Chapter 177

Celine

I sit there long after the door closes, listening to the echo fade into stone.

Nothing comes to explain it.

No sense settles. No understanding arrives late and apologetic. The room remains exactly what it is—too warm, too still, too real. The air tastes unfamiliar, sharp at the back of my throat. I test my magic again, carefully, quietly.

There is nothing.

It isn’t blocked. It isn’t resiste