All Chapters of TRAPPED IN THE DARK CASTLE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

AMY’S POVThe moment I stepped out of the throne hall, the air felt heavier, and each breath I took scraped painfully inside my chest as though the castle itself was closing its doors around me. I walked down the long corridor with my hands trembling at my sides, telling myself I needed to keep moving if I didn’t want to fall apart in the middle of the hall where anyone could see me.I forced my steps to stay steady even though my vision shook slightly, and I couldn’t push away the echo of Oliver’s voice telling me to leave, repeating in my mind until every word felt like another crack forming inside my ribs.By the time I reached my room, I felt numb from head to toe. I closed the door quietly behind me, leaned my forehead against the wood, and tried to process everything that had just happened. My throat burned, and I tried to swallow the ache down, but the panic built faster than I could control. I didn’t understand how things had changed so quickly.Only days ago, Oliver held me s

AMY’S POVThe hours inside the room passed slowly, the kind of slow that made every second feel louder than it should, and I sat against the wall with my knees pulled close, staring at the lantern’s dim flame while trying to keep my mind from spiraling. The quiet didn’t help. The smell of damp stone didn’t help. The memory of Oliver’s expression when he pushed me away didn’t help. Everything felt like a trap—my body in this room, my thoughts inside my head, my fear pressed against my ribs. But under that fear was another feeling, something sharp and restless, something I didn’t recognize as my own.The air shifted slightly outside the door, and I sensed someone approaching before I heard the soft footsteps. Sean didn’t bother hiding his presence. His aura carried a particular tension that seeped under the door like cold smoke. He liked being felt before being seen. He liked announcing power without words.The door opened without warning.He stepped inside, hands casually in his pocket

AMY’S POVThe hours after Sean left the room passed slowly, and although the door remained locked, I stayed standing for a long time with my back pressed against the wall, trying to understand what had just happened to me. My palms still carried a faint echo of heat, and each time I flexed my fingers, a small pulse traveled through my arms like a reminder of what my blood had become. There was strength inside me now, but it wasn’t consistent or predictable. It came in waves, like a sudden rush that burned bright before fading again, and I needed to learn how to use it without losing control.I moved to the door and pressed my ear against the wood, listening carefully. I could hear faint footsteps in the hallway, but not Sean’s. His aura was distinct, heavy and cold, and I didn’t sense it anywhere nearby. That meant he was either somewhere far from this wing or outside the castle entirely. Either way, it was the first time since I arrived that I truly believed I might have a chance.I

AMY’S POVGina woke me gently an hour later, her hand shaking my shoulder with enough urgency to pull me out of the thick, heavy sleep that had swallowed me. My eyes opened slowly, and for a moment I struggled to remember where I was, but the cold air and dim lantern were enough to pull me back to reality. My body still ached everywhere, but the warmth pulsing faintly in my veins helped me stand without falling.Gina watched me carefully, her expression tight. “We need to move now. The guards on this side of the castle will change shifts soon, and it will be harder to slip through the halls once they start patrolling.”I nodded, steadying my breath. “Take me to him.”“You must stay behind me and follow every instruction,” she said quietly as she opened the storage room door. “If anyone sees you, especially the ones Bernatta controls directly, we’re finished.”“I understand,” I whispered, even though fear crawled slowly up my spine.We stepped into a corridor so dim it looked drained o

OLIVER’S POVThe first thing I felt was cold—so cold that it seeped through my skin, sank into my bones, and wrapped itself around every part of me like chains pulled too tight. I tried to inhale, but my lungs didn’t expand the way they should, and for several seconds I couldn’t tell whether I was breathing at all. My eyes opened slowly, but the room around me appeared blurred, as if someone had wiped water across my vision. The candlelight flickered in the corner, but even that felt distant and warped, like memory instead of reality.Then I heard her.Bernatta.Her voice didn’t echo. It didn’t whisper. It didn’t speak in any normal sense. It pressed directly into my skull, pushing aside my own thoughts with the strength of steel cutting through cloth. My mind responded automatically, even though every remaining part of myself screamed in protest.Come, Oliver.My body moved.My legs stepped forward with perfect balance even though my awareness lagged behind. I felt my hand brush the