Chapter 13: Banished from Eden

⁠​​​‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌⁠Silence reigned on the height. The winds had died away, the clouds were scattering swiftly, like an army of ghosts. The embers of the wood below crackled softly. The trunks had all been gnawed to the roots by the fiery tooth of the flames. It was like a churchyard full of clumsy black crosses and grave-stones on which the souls danced to and fro like will-o'-the-wisps.

The countess rested silently