Metal echoes through the darkness.
Not gentle.Not distant.Sharp.
A frantic jingling, clashing, rattling — like the whole dungeon is breathing through iron lungs.
I turn to my left.
—Creak.
A metal gate opens slowly, one groaning inch at a time.
My heartbeat slams into my chest.
Footsteps follow.
Tap.Tap.Tap.
Black shoes appear first, then the hem of a black cloak trailing behind them. And above that—
A strange shape on her head.
Her head.
Green eyes.Soft cheeks.
Aveline.
"Aveline…" I whisper. My voice comes out broken, thin.
I push myself up, hands gripping the bars so hard the metal trembles.My fingers shake. My jaw tightens. My legs feel like water.
But I can feel something rising in me — hope.
"Aveline! It's me! Warren!"
My voice cracks, desperate, loud enough to burn my throat.
She turns to me.
Slowly.
The scrape of her shoes across stone echoes down the row of cages, bouncing off metal.
Then she faces me fully.
"Ave…line?" I whisper again.
And something shatters inside me.
Her face…
Her mouth stretches too wide.A smile pulled from ear to ear.Not human.Not natural.
My arms twitch.My breath halts.Her eyes lower into a harsh, sharp frown — but her lips stay in that awful smile.
A shadow slants across her face, cutting her features into two different people.
My legs shake violently.
Something's wrong.So wrong.
She must be hurt, right?She must be injured, scared — something must have happened to her outside—
"Aveline… are you hurt?" I croak."I hope you're okay."
A smile tugs across my own lips without meaning to.Why am I… smiling?
She steps forward.
Tap.Tap.
My smile won't leave.It feels forced onto my face — as if my body is trying to calm her down.
But her smile…Her smile is haunting.Sharp.Hungry.
Why is she looking at me like that?
Metal clinks.
She pulls something from her cloak — a small piece of iron.She fits it perfectly into my lock.
My heart drops.
"Aveline…?"I step back.Give her space.My body reacts before my mind can.
Is she… coming to get me out?
The door swings open.
Slow.Too slow.
The metallic taste in my mouth fades — replaced by something hollow and cold.
She walks inside.
Each step echoes.
Tap.Tap.
Her smile never changes.
In her other hand is something long and thin.A glint of moonlight catches the edge from a crack in the ceiling.
A blade.
Not big.Not crude.
Precise.
She raises her hand above her head.
Slowly—Slowly—Slowly—
—Snap.
A red line tears open across my arm.
The pain is instant and explosive.
A scream bursts out of me — raw, loud, uncontrollable.I didn't even realize it was my own voice.
Hot blood spills down my skin, thick and warm.
Tears flood my eyes, blurring everything.
"It hurts—it hurts—it hurts—!"
Gasps and sobs erupt from the cells around me.Other elves cry out, shrinking back into the shadows.
Aveline is laughing.
Laughing.
A soft, breathy giggle at first…Then a sharper, wider, delighted sound.
Like this was always inside her.Waiting.Hiding beneath the soft tone she used in the forest.
"Wh… why…?" I choke out, voice breaking apart.
Her smile widens further, stretching her cheeks until her skin tightens around her face.
She takes another step toward me.
White-hot agony burns across my arm, but it's nothing compared to the cold terror flooding my chest.
"Aveline…"My voice collapses into a sob.
"I'm scared."
And she keeps smiling.