#Chapter 360 A Bond Thick as Steel

Judy’s POV The halls stretched long and dark; moonlight slanted through high windows. Selene moved with easy grace, her hand trailing along the walls, but I slowed when a door creaked faintly open on our left. “Esme used to spend a lot of time in here,” she told me, stepping into the room. The air was stale, and my heart squeezed in my chest as I realized where we were. It was a nursery. It was heavy with dust, but the crib still stood, delicate lace draped over its frame. Toys lay scattered across the rug—a stuffed wolf, a carved rattle, a tiny silver cup. It looked as though someone had simply walked out and shut the door years ago. “We never understood why,” Selene went on to say. “It took years for us to get her to leave this room. Once we shut the door, we never opened it again.” “Whose room was this?” I asked, my voice coming out unfamiliar and hollow. “Lila’s,” she replied, turning to look at me. “We had it built when she was a baby.” I looked around the r