Zyra POV
The mansion doesn’t sleep.
It pretends to, lights dimmed, halls quiet, the world wrapped in stillness but I can feel it watching me. The walls breathe. The floors whisper. Even the shadows seem to shift, as if they know I don’t belong here.
As if they know I’m about to leave.
I lie on the massive bed, staring up at the dark canopy above me, my heart thudding far too loudly in my chest. Every time I close my eyes, I see him.
Dael.
Those red eyes.
That voice telling me I wasn’t leaving.
That presence that made the air feel too heavy to breathe.
He told me to rest.
He told me I was safe.
But what he really meant was that I was trapped.
And I can’t live like that.
Slowly, I shift, testing my body. Pain flares along my side, sharp and unforgiving. My arm throbs beneath its
