It had been days since I'd been locked in this room. The maids only came in to drop food and water before rushing out again like I was something dangerous.
I'd tried escaping, but the door wouldn't budge.
Mom… Maggie… they were probably worried sick. Maybe they were out there right now, searching for me with the police. That thought alone kept my chest tight.
My mind had been spinning for days—
the strange dream with a man I'd never met,
the blood on my sheets when I woke up,
the kidnapping,
the way I felt strangely… connected to the man who took me…
and being locked in this giant, beautiful prison of a room.
I needed to get out. Somehow. Before they caught me.
Darkness had already settled outside, thick with a cold fog that clung to the window. The building I was in looked endlessly long from what I could see… so escaping through the window wasn't an option.
Then came the howling again.
Wolves.
Every night, without fail.
But instead of fear, the sound weirdly made me feel… less alone. Like something out there recognized me.
I stepped closer to the door and studied the lock. As I touched it, a tiny spark of energy shot through my fingers. I pulled back, blinking.
Probably just my brain messing with me. Too much stress.
But then I felt it again—this time pulsing through my right hand.
"What… is happening to me?" I whispered, staring as a faint glow shimmered beneath my skin.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
The glow was gone.
Maybe I was just overthinking. I grabbed a glass of water and took a long sip, trying to calm myself.
And then—
The surge hit again. Harder.
And with it… a whisper.
**Touch the lock.**
I stiffened and spun around, but no one was there. The voice had been soft, sharp, and right inside my head.
Great. I was officially losing it.
Still, I stepped closer. My heartbeat thudded in my ears.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed my hand to the lock.
A glow burst from my palm—bright, startling—
and the lock clicked open.
I yanked my hand back, staring at it.
"Humans can't do that…," I whispered.
How was I able to do that?
There was no time to question it. I slipped out and quietly closed the door behind me.
The hallway was dim, lit only by a few lanterns that cast long shadows across the walls. I had to move carefully—maids still patrolled this place.
"No one can find me," I muttered to myself, feeling a shaky relief just being outside that room.
I crept forward, passing three doors without a sound… until voices made me stop abruptly.
A conversation.
Selora.
And him.
Heat flared through me at the thought of the kidnapper. Anger mixed with… something I refused to name.
I pressed my ear to the door.
"You have to bring her out. She's been in there long enough," Selora said.
"No," he replied sharply. "We still haven't figured out why she reacted like that—especially the bleed."
Bleed?
My stomach twisted.
They were talking about me.
How did he know? How did *anyone* know?
And then everything clicked together in a dizzy rush—
The man from my dream.
This man.
His scent.
His voice.
Those same burning eyes watching me at the mall with Maggie.
He was—
"She's left the room," he interrupted suddenly. "I can smell her."
My blood ran cold.
I had to run.
"You have nowhere to run, Halia," he said.
His voice was deep, cold—
and there was a low growl under it that no human should be able to make.
Move, Halia.
I bolted down the stairs, the maids gasping and shouting behind me as they rushed to catch me.
"Lock the gates!" he roared from above.
I kept running, breath burning my lungs. Two guards appeared ahead, ready to block me.
And then—
The voice in my head returned.
**Little one… shout 'kthon terra mereketh.'**
I didn't think.
I didn't question.
I screamed:
**"KTHON TERRA MEREKETH!"**
Light exploded around me—
and everything went black.