Ashes and Alibis

~Raina~

The silence of the Lancaster family mansion was supposed to be a sanctuary, but today, it felt like the heavy, pressurized quiet before a storm.

I sat on the edge of the plush velvet sofa in the morning room, my hands wrapped around a cup of chamomile tea that Bea had pressed into my palms twenty minutes ago. I hadn't tasted it. My body was still vibrating with the lingering adrenaline of