six

ISOLDE POV

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening by side.

“Spanish?” I frowned, looking at him. “What do you mean Spanish? Why would I say the password in Spanish?”

He dragged a hand down his face and let out a long, tired sigh, like I was testing the last bit of his patience.

“Español,” he said slowly, like he was talking to a child. “Just… say the damn password.”

I stared at him, narrowing my eyes. This had to be a setup. “Are you trying to mess with me?”

His expression went cold instantly. “Look, lady, I’ve had enough of your bullshit. Either say the fucking password in Spanish… or get the hell out of this property.”

I swallowed hard.

Yeah… he was definitely getting pissed.

“O-okay… tiger, calm down,” I muttered under my breath, raising my hands slightly. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

His eyes darkened at that.

Right. Focus. Spanish.

I glanced back at the wolf statue, my pulse kicking up. My Spanish was rusty at best, and now of all times my brain wanted to go blank. Lunar… okay, that stays the same. Gate… puerta, right? And thirteen… trece…

I shifted on my feet, second-guessing myself. This had to be right. It had to be. Because if I screwed it up in front of him… yeah, not an option.

I exhaled quietly, then spoke.

“Puerta lunar… trece,” I murmured, a little slower than usual, like saying it carefully might somehow make it correct.

For a moment… nothing.

My heart dropped.

Then…

A soft click broke the silence.

The iron bars rattled, shivering like they were waking up, before they slowly started to part.

I sucked in a shaky breath, only just realizing I’d been holding it the whole time, my eyes locked on the gate.

“Oh… thank God,” I breathed, almost laughing in disbelief. “…it worked.”

A rush of cold air hit me the second the gates opened.

Not normal cold… nah . This was different. Sharp. Wrong. It slid over my skin and straight through me, like something unseen had just brushed past.. zlike those moments in horror movies that gives you this unshaky bad vibes.

A shiver crawled down my spine, raising goosebumps along my arms.

“Get in the car. I don’t have all day.”

His voice cut clean through my thoughts… cold, impatient.

I blinked, still staring down the long driveway stretching out ahead. It seemed endless, lined with towering trees whose branches curved inward, almost like they were hiding whatever lay deeper inside.

I couldn’t see the house.

Not even a shadow of it.

I swallowed hard, then turned back to the truck, that uneasy feeling settling heavier in my chest with every step.

I climbed in, shutting the door a little too quickly.

The engine came to life, and we drove inside.

The deeper we drove, the darker it got. Sunlight barely reached the road now, swallowed by the dense canopy above. The shadows stretched long and strange, shifting with the wind… or maybe it’s all in my head.. this town was screech since I stepped in . Maybe it’s messy with my thoughts.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. His hands rested steady on the wheel, his face calm and unreadable.

“How far is it?” I asked softly, my voice barely cutting through the silence.

He didn’t answer right away.

Then, after a moment…

“You’ll see.”

The way he said it made something twist in my stomach.

Because it didn’t sound reassuring.

It sounded like a warning.

The driveway stretched endlessly ahead, flanked by towering trees that swallowed most of the morning light. My hands clenched the edge of my seat, my heart hammering with every turn of the wheel.

Then… it appeared.

A massive stone wall rose abruptly from the earth, dark and imposing, as if it had grown from the ground itself. I blinked, frozen. I hadn’t expected anything like this.

Beyond the wall… a mansion.

Huge. Elegant. Intimidating.

Turrets and spires clawed at the sky, windows glinting like dark eyes, ivy snaking along every surface. The gates were wrought iron, intricate, but even behind them, the house seemed untouchable, almost alive.

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. Alara… lived here? How?

The past two years, I’d known her. Nothing about her life hinted at luxury… she was rather frugal with money, almost stingy. I’d even jokingly called her a stingy pig.

But this… oh my days… this was insane. I just stared, my mouth hanging open.

Cairos eased the truck to a stop at the gates, cutting the engine. Silence pressed down like a weight.

“Welcome… Blackthorn,” he said, calm and precise, his voice carrying that same dangerous authority that made my chest tighten.

I froze, staring at the mansion as if I’d stepped into another world.

It was bigger… bigger for a small town like this should even have.

I climbed out of the truck, still unable to believe my eyes.

“I would take my leave now.” his voice cutting through my thoughts.

“…feel at home. If you need anything, there’s a number on the wall.”

He pointed casually to a small metal plate near the door, the number printed neatly across it.

“I would take my leave now…” he added.

Before I could even say a word, he was gone.

Just like that.

In the blink of an eye, Cairos Veylan had vanished.

I stood frozen, blinking at the empty driveway, my heart still pounding from the mix of awe and fear.

I slowly turned back to the mansion, towering and silent before me. Its dark windows reflected the pale morning light, and the air around it felt… heavy. Like it was watching me.

Grabbing my bag from the truck, I dug through it for the keys, my hands trembling slightly. The moment they touched the cold metal of the door handle, I hesitated… but then pushed, opening it slowly.

Suddenly, A flurry of birds exploded from inside the house, wings flapping wildly, claws scratching the wooden walls.

I stumbled back, nearly losing my balance, my heart racing a mile a minute.

“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, bending over as the birds scattered into the sky.

I took a shaky breath, hands pressed to my chest, staring at the wide-open doorway.