Elara's Point of View
"Silas?"
In the dark room, my voice sounded small.
No answer.
I sat up quickly in bed because my heart was racing too fast for such a quiet night. The light next to me was still on. There was no one in the chair where he had been sitting.
I said, "Silas, this isn't funny."
Nothing.
The air was cold again. It's too cold. Like the time just before he always left.
I stood up, and my feet touched the cold floor. It felt like something heavy was pushing inside my chest.
I whispered, "Silas." "Please."
Then the air changed.
I didn't hear any footsteps. I didn't hear the door close. He was just... there.
Standing close to the window.
I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. "Where did you go?"
He didn't look at me right away. His shoulders were tight. His hands were tight.
"I had to leave," he said softly.
"Step away from where?" You didn't even say goodbye.
"I couldn't."
That word made my chest hurt even more.
I walked up to him. "You keep doing this. You come, you stay, and then you leave. Do you know how that feels?
He finally looked at me. His eyes looked darker than they usually do. Not chilly. Just scared.
He said, "It feels worse for me."
I stopped moving. "What does that mean?"
Silas took a deep breath. "You need to know something about this house."
My stomach turned. "What?"
He looked around the room as if the walls were listening.
"There are rules."
I laughed a little, but it wasn't real. "Rules? This is my home.
He shook his head. "No." It just lets you stay.
That made my skin crawl.
"Silas, you're making me scared."
"I don't want to," he said quickly. "I didn't tell you before because of that."
"Tell me what?"
He got closer and stopped just a step away from me. I could feel the air change again. My heart raced without me asking it to.
He said in a very quiet voice, "The first rule is that no one who falls in love inside Nightfall House leaves the same."
I looked at him. "That's not a rule." That's just words.
"These words mean something."
I put my arms across my chest. "You're saying that this place changes people? So what? "Moving anywhere changes people."
Again, Silas shook his head. "Not like this."
"Then how?"
He thought for a moment. For just a second. Then he reached out and touched my hand.
When he grabbed my hand, pain shot up my arm.
I gasped. "Ah—!"
He pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean—"
My hand was shaking. Not hurt. Just weak. It felt like I had held something too heavy for too long.
"What was that?" I asked.
Silas looked at his own hand as if it didn't belong to him.
"That's what I mean," he said. "The house takes something every time we get close."
I said quickly, "That's not true." "I'm fine."
But my chest still hurt as I said it. My head felt light.
"You weren't like this before," he said.
"Like what?"
"Cold." Sleepy. You didn't shake when I touched you.
I had no idea what to say. I didn't want to say he was right.
"So what?" I said. "Do you think I should stop seeing you?"
His jaw got tight. "You should go," I said.
The word hit me harder than I thought it would.
"Leave?" I said it again.
"Yes."
This time, I laughed even harder. "So you get to stay, and I just leave?"
"You get to live."
I got closer to him. "And what do you get?"
He didn't say anything.
I looked up at his face. "You said it yourself. You are only here. What happens to you if I leave?
His eyes fell.
"I go away."
My throat got tight.
"You're asking me to pick," I said quietly. "Me or you."
"Choose yourself," I said.
I shook my head. "That's not right."
For the first time, he raised his voice. "This isn't fair at all!"
It felt like the walls were breathing around us.
He said, "You don't get it." "Every night I feel you slipping away. A little more. Like the house is tearing you apart, piece by piece.
"I am still here," I said.
"But you won't be," he said. "Not if you stay."
I didn't realize I was crying until I felt something warm slide down my cheek.
"So what should I do?" I asked. "Act like you don't exist?"
Silas reached for me again, but stopped halfway.
He said, "Please don't forget me." "I just don't want you to die for me."
"I'm not going to die."
He smiled at me with the saddest face.
"You can already feel it, can't you?"
I didn't say anything.
Because I did.
My body felt like it was getting heavier. My head hurt. And every time he faded away, it felt like something inside me broke.
Silas took a step back.
"I have to go," he said.
"No," I said quickly. "Not yet."
"If I stay too long, it will hurt you more."
"I don't care."
He shook his head. "I do."
He began to disappear. Not completely. Just... lighter. Like smoke.
My chest hurt.
"Silas," I said, my voice shaking. "Don't."
He smiled at me. "That's the second rule."
"What is?"
"The house always takes what you love the most."
My knees were weak.
The pain hit me all at once when he left. Sharp. Deep. It felt like my heart had stopped beating.
To stay standing, I held on to the edge of the bed.
"Silas!" I cried.
Nothing.
The room was empty again.
But the pain didn't go away.
I slid down to the floor and breathed heavily. My chest hurt. My hands were cold. My head was spinning.
I said his name again in a whisper, but the house didn't answer.
Then the pain slowly went away.
Not gone. Just be quiet.
I sat there for a long time.
Waiting.
Hearing.
The air changed again.
He was back.
He looked scared this time.
He said quickly, "Elara." "You shouldn't be sitting on the floor."
"I couldn't stand," I said.
He looked at me with his eyes. "You're pale."
"I'm fine."
He shook his head. "No, you're not."
I tried to get up, but my legs were too weak. Before I could fall, he reached out and caught me.
As soon as he put his arms around me, I felt warm all over.
Too much heat.
My heart raced. I couldn't breathe. Without thinking, I grabbed his shirt with my hands.
"Silas," I said softly. "Don't let go."
He stopped moving.
"Elara, this is exactly what I mean."
"I don't care about rules," I said. "I care about you."
He looked down at me, and I could feel his breath on my face.
"I don't want to hurt you."
I said, "You don't." "It only hurts when you go."
His hands shook.
He said, "Every time I stay, the house takes something from you."
"Then let it," I said.
He shut his eyes.
"That's how it gets people."
I raised my hand and touched his face.
He didn't let go.
"I am not trapped," I said softly. "I'm making a choice."
Silas woke up.
"Choosing what?"
"You."
For a short time, we were the only ones there.
Then the room changed.
The walls made noise.
The light got dimmer.
Silas got tense.
He whispered, "It's listening."
"I don't care."
Still, he pulled me closer.
And this time, he didn't go away.
The pain didn't come.
Just warmth.
Just him.
Then I felt something different.
Not hurting.
Not warmth.
A deep, slow emptiness.
It felt like a part of me had quietly disappeared.
Suddenly, Silas pulled back.
"Elara... your heart."
"What about it?"
He put his hand on my chest.
"It's slower."
I tried to make myself laugh. "You're making things up."
But his face had turned white.
He said, "This isn't safe anymore."
I swallowed. "Then stay with me."
He looked around the room as if the house was watching him through the walls.
He said, "The house will take more if I stay."
"Then I'll give more."
He looked at me.
"That's the issue."
The room got cold before I could ask what he meant.
Not empty.
Not quiet.
Chilly.
The door behind me opened on its own.
Slow.
Very loud.
Silas's eyes got bigger.
He said softly, "Elara." "That has never happened before."