章 23: Chapter 23: The Hidden Jungle

Less than a minute later, they were admitted into Veritas Hall. Vix was still breathless, her skin goosepimpled as chills ran through her like aftershocks, each weaker than the last. She had just used magic – real magic.

‘I could get used to this,’ she thought, shivering as the last of the chills ran its course.

Vix resisted the urge to shoot one last triumphant look at the guard captain. It would have been lost on him, anyway. He still wore an expression of supreme stupefaction on his face as he pushed aside the plain wooden door to allow them through.

Vix stepped after Mirra through the threshold. She found herself within a long and pale hall, with vaulted ceilings and walls of delicate marble, perfectly white and smooth. Paintings hung along the walls in regimented increments, proud and rigid, looking like ranks of soldiers awaiting their commander’s inspection.