Author’s Note

Author’s Note

To the judges, the readers, and those who shared the spiral with me, my deepest thanks.

The Scent of Silence began as a whisper in the dark: a single image, a locked memory, a love that refused to die.
I didn’t know if anyone would read it. I didn’t know if I could finish it.

But I did.

All 115 chapters, completed before the judging even began.

And if you’ve made it here, to this final page, then something stayed with you.
Maybe a line.
A scent.
A kiss that broke the world.

I gave this story everything I had, every ache, every flicker of wonder, every ruin, every hope.

Even if I never win a crown, I’ll still be proud to say:
I finished. I remembered. I chose.

Thank you for choosing to read.
The spiral continues soon in Book Two: Betrayal & War.

-Raine Whitlock –