Naya didn't ask questions.
She just followed.
Leo's hand was cold around her wrist as he pulled her through the east wing hallway, his breath coming in short bursts. He kept glancing over his shoulder, the panic in his eyes loud enough to drown out the silence between them.
"She was gone when I came for morning inspection," he said under his breath. "I thought maybe she'd… I don't know, maybe she—"
"Escaped?" Naya asked.
Leo shook his head. "That door is steel. It has two locks and a six-digit code. She shouldn't be able to even move around, let alone—"
They turned the corner, and he stopped so fast Naya bumped into him.
The red steel door was wide open.
No keypad. No lock sounds. Just open.
Naya's blood went cold.
Leo stepped in first, hand trembling as he reached for the light switch. The sterile white lights flickered on overhead.
The hallway inside was empty.
The glass cells were quiet.
And Mira's room?
Completely abandoned.
Naya stepped toward it slowly. The bedding was shredded. The corners of the walls were scratched raw. Blood smeared along the lower edge of the glass — fingernail-shaped smudges, still damp.
"She was alive," Leo whispered, more to himself than to her. "She was in here last night. I swear."
Naya turned around. "Where's Kael?"
"I don't know," Leo replied. "He left before dawn. Didn't say where. Just told me to keep an eye on you."
Her throat tightened.
"He left you alone with someone who just escaped from a maximum security glass cell?" she asked, her voice sharp.
Leo's face darkened. "You think I'm not scared?"
Naya stared at the smears of blood again.
No way Mira could've broken out. Not with how hollow she'd looked.
Unless… she wasn't hollow anymore.
"What if she's not trying to run?" Naya said slowly. "What if she's trying to finish what she started?"
Leo frowned. "You mean—kill him?"
She nodded.
He shook his head immediately. "No. He's too careful. Too trained. She wouldn't make it five feet near him."
"But she made it out of this room," Naya whispered. "So she's already five feet ahead."
They looked at each other for a long second.
Then—
A crash upstairs.
Glass. A deep thud. And a scream.
Leo was already running. Naya followed, heart pounding, her bare feet slapping the floor.
They climbed the stairs two at a time, turning toward the west wing — Kael's side of the estate.
The scream came again.
This time, not Mira.
A man.
Naya grabbed the railing as she turned the corner—and froze.
One of the guards lay at the bottom of the hallway, motionless. Blood pooled under his head, dark and thick and terrifying.
Another man stumbled backward, clutching his side.
And there—at the far end—was Mira.
She wasn't the quiet, broken girl anymore.
Her eyes were wild. Her arms were slick with blood that wasn't hers. And in her hand, she held a knife.
Not just any knife.
Kael's.
Naya recognized the black hilt — the one he kept tucked into his belt every morning. She'd seen it. She remembered the design.
Mira had gotten to him.
Or at least, gotten close enough.
Leo raised his hands slowly. "Mira… it's me. Leo."
Mira didn't move.
Her eyes snapped to Naya.
And when she spoke, her voice was nothing like the whisper it had been behind the glass.
"You're the reason he brought me back," she hissed.
Naya's spine went rigid. "What are you talking about?"
Mira took a step forward, her body trembling with rage.
"He sees her in you. The girl before me. Celeste."
Naya shook her head. "I'm not her."
"I wasn't her either," Mira growled. "But it didn't stop him."
Behind her, more guards were coming down the hallway.
Mira saw them. Her gaze flickered. Her grip on the knife tightened.
And then—before anyone could stop her—
She lunged.
Not at Leo. Not at Naya.
She threw the knife toward the staircase—
And turned to sprint down the hall.
The blade missed the nearest guard by inches.
By the time they shouted her name, Mira had already turned the corner and vanished again into the mansion.
⸻
The guards cursed and gave chase.
Leo grabbed Naya's arm, breathless. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, but her pulse thundered.
That look in Mira's eyes.
That accusation.
That name—Celeste—like a curse. Like a prophecy.
Kael hadn't told her everything.
And now, someone was bleeding for it.
⸻
Hours passed.
The mansion went into lockdown.
No one could leave. The exits were sealed. Rooms were searched. Kael still hadn't returned.
Naya sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall.
She wasn't afraid.
She was angry.
Mira wasn't crazy.
Not fully.
Whatever had been done to her… it had started with a name. A girl who Kael had "loved." A girl who was gone now, but still haunting every hallway, every decision.
Celeste.
The ghost behind the red door.
And now, that ghost was bleeding into her life.
⸻
A knock came at the door.
Sharp. Measured.
Naya stood slowly.
Opened it.
And there—finally—stood Kael.
His suit was wrinkled. A cut bled slowly along his jaw.
But his eyes… they weren't surprised.
Just tired.
"I assume you've met Mira," he said quietly.
Naya didn't answer.
He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and turned to face her.
"I didn't expect her to escape this soon," he said.
"She was coming for you," Naya whispered.
"I know."
Naya stared at him.
"So why did you leave the door open?"