Elara's POV
"Run where?" I gasped.
The woman with glowing eyes glided closer, her frost spreading across the marble floor. Behind her, more doors opened. More figures emerged from the darkness. Pale faces. Hungry eyes. Things that looked human but weren't.
"The east wing," Cassian said, pulling me backward. "Now!"
But I couldn't move. Terror had frozen my legs. The woman was ten feet away now. Five feet. Close enough that I could see her teeth were too sharp, her fingers too long.
"Don't be rude, guardian," she said to Cassian. Her voice sounded like breaking glass. "We only want to meet her. To welcome the new mistress."
"She's not ready for you yet, Morgana." Cassian's free hand crackled with darkness—actual black energy that swirled around his fingers. "Back off."
Morgana laughed. "So protective. Just like her mother. Look how well that ended."
Rage flooded through my fear. "Don't you dare talk about my mother."
"Ah, she has spirit." Morgana's glowing eyes fixed on me. "Good. Spirit is delicious."
The other figures moved closer. I counted six of them. All beautiful. All wrong.
"What are they?" I whispered to Cassian.
"Bound spirits. Part of the manor's defenses." His jaw was tight. "Usually they sleep until called. Something woke them."
"You woke us, little Thornwood." A man with silver hair stepped forward. "The moment you crossed the threshold, we felt it. Fresh blood. Strong blood. The kind we haven't tasted in a decade."
"Nobody's tasting anything," Cassian snarled. The darkness around his hand grew bigger, wilder. "I'm still guardian here. You answer to me."
"For now," Morgana purred. "But guardians can be replaced. Especially ones who've grown weak from loneliness."
Thomas had disappeared. Smart man. I wished I could disappear too.
"Last warning," Cassian said. "Leave. Now."
Morgana tilted her head, studying him. Then, slowly, she smiled. "As you wish, guardian. We'll wait. We're very good at waiting." She looked at me one more time. "Welcome home, Elara Thornwood. We'll see you at dinner."
She turned and glided back into the darkness. The others followed, their footsteps silent. The doors closed one by one until we were alone again.
My legs finally gave out. I sat down hard on the floor.
"Breathe," Cassian said, kneeling beside me. "Just breathe. You're safe."
"Safe?" I laughed, and it came out slightly hysterical. "Those things want to eat me!"
"They won't. I won't let them." He touched my face gently, turning me to look at him. "I've protected this manor for ten years. I've protected your inheritance. And I will protect you. I promise."
His touch was cold but solid. Real. I grabbed his wrist, needing to feel something normal in this impossible nightmare.
"What happened to you?" I asked again. "What are you?"
Pain flashed across his face. "Something I never wanted to become."
"Cassian—"
"Let me show you to your room first. Get you settled. Then I'll explain everything." He stood and offered his hand. "Please, Elara. Trust me a little longer."
I didn't trust him. How could I? He'd lied to me for ten years. Let me think he was dead. And now he was something not quite human, living in a house full of monsters.
But I took his hand anyway. Because what choice did I have?
He pulled me up and led me toward the grand staircase. Every step we took echoed in the empty hall. The paintings of my ancestors watched us pass. I tried not to look at them. Tried not to remember running up these stairs as a child, laughing and carefree.
"Where's Thomas?" I asked.
"Gone. He can't stay on the grounds after dark. The wards don't recognize him as family."
"But they recognize me?"
"Your blood opened the doors. Your blood feeds the wards. This house knows you, Elara. It's been hungry for you."
A chill ran through me. "That's a creepy thing to say."
"This is a creepy place." He almost smiled. Almost. "You'll get used to it."
We reached the third floor. Cassian stopped in front of a familiar door. My old bedroom.
"You're kidding," I said.
"Your mother kept it exactly as you left it. She said you'd come back someday." He opened the door. "She was right."
The room was perfect. My bed with its purple blanket. My bookshelf stuffed with novels. My desk still covered with old drawings. Even my stuffed rabbit sat on the pillow, waiting.
It was like stepping into a time capsule. A museum of the girl I used to be.
"I can't stay here," I whispered.
"Where else would you stay?"
"Anywhere. A hotel. Back to London. Anywhere but here."
"You can't leave." Cassian's voice was gentle but firm. "Not for thirty days. It's part of your inheritance contract. If you leave before then, you forfeit everything."
I whirled on him. "So I'm trapped?"
"You're protected. There's a difference."
"Stop saying that!" Tears burned my eyes. "Stop acting like this is normal! You're dead, Cassian! You're supposed to be dead!"
"I know." He reached for me, then stopped, his hand falling. "I know this is hard. I know you're scared. But I need you to be strong just a little longer. Until I can explain."
"Then explain now!"
He looked at me for a long moment. Something in his expression made my breath catch. Sadness. Longing. And underneath it all, a hunger that matched the creatures downstairs.
"Tonight," he said quietly. "After you've rested. After you've eaten. I'll tell you everything." He backed toward the door. "There's a bathroom through there. Clean clothes in the wardrobe. Everything you need."
"Wait—"
"Lock the door behind me, Elara. Don't open it for anyone until I come back." His gray eyes held mine. "Not even if they sound like me. Not even if they beg. Promise me."
Fear crawled up my spine. "Why? What else is in this house?"
"Things that are very good at pretending to be what you want them to be." He stepped into the hallway. "Promise me."
"I promise."
He nodded and closed the door.
I stood there, staring at the wood, my heart pounding. Then I rushed forward and turned the lock.
Silence fell around me. Complete silence. Too complete.
I walked to the window and looked out at the moors. The mist had gotten thicker. Night was falling fast.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out with shaking hands.
Another text from the unknown number:
Welcome home, cousin. Did you miss me? I've been waiting to see you again. We have so much to catch up on.
Cousin?
I only had one cousin. Adrian. But I hadn't seen him since I was a kid. Since before the fire.
My phone buzzed again. This time, a photo loaded.
It was taken from outside. Looking up at my window. At me standing exactly where I was right now.
Someone was out there. Watching.
I stumbled back from the window, my heart racing.
A knock sounded on my door.
"Elara?" Cassian's voice. "I forgot to tell you something important."
I froze. He'd left less than a minute ago.
Another knock. "Elara, please. Open the door."
But Cassian had said not to open it. Not even if it sounded like him.
"Go away," I called out.
Silence.
Then laughter. Not Cassian's laugh. Someone else's. Cold and cruel.
"Smart girl," the voice said—now sounding nothing like Cassian. "But not smart enough. You should never have come home, little Thornwood. Now you're exactly where we want you."
The doorknob rattled.
The lock clicked.
The door began to open.