6

I tried every door.

Locked.

Another one.

Locked.

Another—

This one gave a little. I pushed harder.

It creaked open on its own.

The darkness inside wasn’t just dark — it felt alive.

I hesitated at the threshold, listening. Nothing but the rain and my pulse thudding in my ears. Then a sound — faint, metallic — clink, clink, clink.

Chains.

My breath caught. I stepped in, just a little, squinting through the dim.

The door slammed shut behind me.

I screamed, spinning around, clawing at the handle — but it wouldn’t move. My heart went wild. I turned back, pressing against the door, eyes straining to see through the black.

There was a sound — low, broken. A groan.

And when my eyes finally adjusted, I saw him.

A man. Hanging from the ceiling.

Bound by his wrists, body trembling, stripped down to nothing but shredded fabric around his waist. His skin was a canvas of blood and bruises, his face unrecognizable beneath it all. A gag pressed between his lips.

He was alive. Barely.

My whole body went cold. “Oh my God…” my jaw dropped.

He tried to lift his head, eyes rolling weakly toward me.

“Hold on— I— I’ll get you out,” I whispered, stumbling forward.

That’s when I felt it.

A cold hand touched my shoulder.

I froze.

Slowly, I turned.

Lucian.

His shirt was soaked, speckled with crimson. His hair clung to his forehead, eyes glinting like they caught their own light. He looked nothing like he had at breakfast — no lazy grin, no teasing charm. Just something raw. Predatory.

“Well,” he said softly, almost amused. “Didn’t expect you to find this room.”

There was a blade in his hand — curved, sharp, dripping something dark.

I stumbled back. “What— what the hell is this?”

He tilted his head, smile widening. “Justice.”

“ What justice? For who?”

He took a step closer. “For her.”

My eyes darted back to the man hanging. “Who is he?”

“A traitor,” Lucian said simply. “He broke one of our laws. Sold information to hunters. And worse—” His tone darkened. “He touched what he wasn’t supposed to. He molested a child”

I blinked, trying to make sense of it. “A— what?”

He smiled again, slow and terrible. “You look disgusted. You should be. He deserved worse than this, but Damien said enough.”

I shook my head, trembling. “This is— this is insane.”

“Is it?” Lucian asked, taking another step, close enough that I could smell the blood on him. “He took innocence. Stole peace. Don’t tell me you don’t understand that kind of crime.”

The word innocence lodged in my chest like a splinter.

Something broke open inside me — not a memory at first, just a feeling. The smell of something damp. Cold fingers. The sound of a door creaking. My own voice, small and hoarse, whispering please.

Then it all rushed in — flashes I’d buried deep. Hands I’d tried to forget. The voice that told me to stay quiet, that no one would believe me.

The taste of fear.

I staggered back, shaking.

Lucian’s eyes flicked over my face, and something cruelly curious curled his lips. “There it is,” he murmured. “You do understand.”

“Shut up,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my mouth.

He reached out, offering the weapon. “Then do it.”

“What?”

“Finish it.” His voice was low, coaxing. “You said you’d get him out. Go on, free him — the easy way. Slice the rope… or the throat. Whichever you think he deserves.”

My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

The blade gleamed between us, still wet.

I stared at the man — the traitor, the monster, the victim — I didn’t know anymore. His eyes begged through the gag, not for mercy, but for release.

And in that moment, I couldn’t tell who I hated more — him, or the part of me that recognized the same brokenness in his eyes.

Lucian’s voice was almost gentle. “You’ve been holding it in too long, haven’t you? The rage. The helplessness. Let it out. Take it.”

I couldn’t move. My fingers twitched at my sides.

The room tilted — the smell of blood, the hum of chains, the sound of my own breath echoing back at me.

Slowly, my hand lifted.

Lucian smiled, dark and satisfied.

The man whimpered, eyes wild with terror.

I reached toward the blade—