Chapter 227

Still, Celestia Brooks didn’t think too much about the strange scene and just headed upstairs to grab the documents she needed. But just as she was coming back down, at the bend between the first and second floors, she happened to glance out the window—and immediately froze in place. “Wait, is that...?” Her voice came out barely above a whisper. She followed her widened eyes toward the scene outside—gray smoke was curling up from the direction of the back garden, blending into the vibrant sunset and turning the sky a murky tone like spilled ink. Dense plane and camphor trees blocked most of the view, so she couldn’t clearly see what was burning, but a wave of anxiety surged up from her gut, setting her nerves completely on edge. Heart racing, Celestia ditched whatever company work still had her tethered and bolted downstairs, dashing toward the back garden without a second thought. Halfway there, she ran smack into someone—hard enough to bring her to a dead stop. Startled, she looked u