First Night With The King

Kelsey’s POV

Kelsey’s heart hammered against her ribs as the man — Silas — stepped further into the room. The candlestick felt ridiculously inadequate in her hands, but she refused to lower it.

“I don’t know who you think I am,” she said, voice sharper than she felt, “but kidnapping journalists is a fast way to end up in jail and on the front page. Let me go. Now.”

Silas’s silver-grey eyes narrowed. He moved with predatory grace, circling her slowly, as if studying every detail. Up close he was even more overwhelming — tall, powerfully built, with an aura of raw authority that made the air feel heavier. The scar on his face only added to the dangerous edge.

“You truly don’t remember,” he murmured, more to himself than to her. “Not yet.”

“Remember what?” Kelsey snapped. “Look, I came here for a story. Disappearances. Strange activity in these woods. If you let me go, I won’t mention any of this. We can both pretend it never happened.”

A dark, humorless chuckle escaped him. “You still think this is about your little newspaper.”

He stopped a few feet away, towering over her. His gaze dropped to the candlestick, then back to her face. Something flickered in his eyes…recognition, pain, hunger.

“Your name was Aylin,” he said quietly. “Centuries ago. You were mine. And the crypt… you triggered the window. The blood moon eclipse begins tonight. For seven days, the curse awakens. And you will stay here until it ends.”

Kelsey stared at him, her reporter brain scrambling to process the insanity. “You’re delusional. This is some kind of cult thing, right? Look, I’ve interviewed plenty of…”

In a blur of motion, he closed the distance. One large hand gently but firmly closed around the candlestick and pried it from her grip. He didn’t hurt her, but the strength behind his movement made it clear he could if he wanted to.

“You feel it,” he said, voice low. “Even if you don’t understand. The pull. The dreams.”

Kelsey’s breath hitched. The dreams. The woman who looked like her. The name Silas. How could he possibly know?

She stepped back until her legs hit the edge of the massive bed. “If you don’t let me leave, people will come looking for me. My boss. My family.”

Silas’s expression darkened. “No one will find this place. The veil protects it. You are safe here from everything…except me.”

He turned and walked toward the door, pausing with his hand on the frame.

“Rest, Kelsey Jones. You will need your strength. The nights are no longer safe.”

The door clicked shut behind him. The lock engaged with a heavy, final sound.

Kelsey sank onto the bed, legs shaking. She touched her neck where the cloth had been pressed earlier. This wasn’t a dream. This was real.

And she was trapped with a madman who thought she was someone named Aylin.

“I am not her”she thought in her head “I am Kelsey Jone. I will escape. I will tell this story. And I will not become his anything.”

But deep down, in a place she didn’t want to acknowledge, something stirred at the sound of his voice.

Hours passed. Kelsey had searched every inch of the luxurious prison no hidden exits, windows too high and reinforced, no tools sharp enough to pick the lock. Her camera and phone were gone. She was completely cut off.

Exhaustion finally pulled her into a restless sleep on the massive bed.

The dream returned, clearer than ever.

She or rather Aylin stood in a moonlit clearing, wrapped in the arms of a man with Silas’s face, but younger, less scarred. They were laughing. Kissing. Then chaos erupted — shouts, magic crackling in the air, wolves howling. A woman in a dark gown appeared, eyes glowing with fury.

“You took everything from us!” the woman screamed. “Now you will suffer eternal solitude!”

Blood. Pain. Death.

Kelsey woke with a gasp, drenched in sweat. The room was darker now, lit only by the flickering fireplace and the eerie red glow of the blood moon pouring through the window.

A pained roar echoed from somewhere deep within the castle — raw, animalistic, filled with centuries of torment.

She sat up, pulse racing. The sound came again, closer this time, followed by heavy footsteps in the corridor outside her door.

Something was wrong.

The roar turned into a snarl that shook the very stones of the castle.

Kelsey backed against the headboard, eyes fixed on the door.

Whatever was coming… it didn’t sound human anymore.