Chapter 4 — The Gilded Cage

Gale

The skyline sliced into the night like a jagged blade, the glass and steel soaked in the neon haze of the city below. From the penthouse, the streets looked tiny, a glittering maze of chaos and ambition. Up here, in the silence, it was all so far away. A kingdom in the clouds. Or maybe a prison. The weight of it pressed against me, heavy as the family ring on my finger—a crown I never asked for, clasped in iron.