Servant passages were not built for heirs.
That was the first thing the academy architecture made clear.
The ceiling pressed low enough that Aiden had to duck. Dust clung to the corners. Old copper pipes ran along the left wall, warm with carried water or old Aether circulation. The floor was narrower than any noble corridor had a right to be, and the air smelled of metal, laundry soap, and fear pretending not to breathe.
Ren Lockwood fit inside it perfectly.
That bothered me more than the monsters.
He moved ahead with one hand on the wall, fingers finding seams I would have missed. His shoulders stayed tight, but his steps were certain. Servants learned the hidden body of grand places because survival required knowing where power did not bother to look.
Aethermere was becoming real in the most inconvenient ways.
The game had no servant passage here.
