The silence after his disappearance was deafening,
Sera stood frozen in the darkened hallway, the whisper of wind pressing against the manor's old bones. The candlelight was gone, leaving only the storm's flickering glow through the balcony doors.
She wasn't alone in this house,
She wasn't even sure she was alone in this hallway,
Her fingers clenched around the letter, the wax seal now damp from her palm,What did he mean....the house wanted her?
Swallowing hard, she forced herself to move She needed to find answers.
Sera followed the corridors, the air growing heavier with each step, Then, she found it,the library.
The doors stood slightly ajar, and inside, the scent of aged paper and leather-bound books filled the air. The fireplace in the corner was cold, but its ashes suggested it had been used recently.
Someone had been here. Maybe him.
Her fingers trailed over the spines of forgotten books, their gilded titles faded, Histories, Poetry, Cursed myths. Then, one book stood out a deep red leather tome, its cover embossed with a single word: Blackwood.
Her heart pounded as she pulled it free The pages crackled with age as she flipped through them. The name Elias Blackwood appeared over and over again, alongside dates and journal entries.
One passage made her breath hitch:
"The whispers have returned. I hear them in the walls, in the halls. They call my name. They ask for her. But I cannot give them what they want. I will not. I would rather be damned."
Sera's skin prickled, Who was 'her'? And why did it feel as if this was written for her to find?
A chill crept down her spine.
She was being watched,
Slowly, she turned.
And there he was.
Elias Blackwood stood in the doorway, his gaze unreadable, his presence both real and impossible.
Sera's breath caught, She had questions But the moment she saw him, words failed her.
He took a step forward, and for the first time, she noticed he wasn't leaving footprints.
Not possible.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "What are you?"
He didn't answer He didn't have to.
Instead, he reached out Just a breath between them now. His fingers brushed her wrist,a ghost of a touch.
And it burned.
Heat shot through her veins, searing and electric. Not fire, not pain something far worse, Something that made her crave more.
Sera gasped, stumbling back, clutching her wrist. The mark of his touch still tingled on her skin.
Elias' eyes darkened. "You felt it."
She swallowed hard, her heart thundering. "What was that?"
His jaw tightened, his gaze locking onto hers as if searching for something. Then, his voice came low, controlled, but edged with something raw.
"You don't belong here."
His words were a warning. But his eyes? They said something else entirely.
And Sera wasn't sure she wanted to listen.