ELIASThe silence of the hallway felt heavy, pressing against my eardrums like pressure at the bottom of the ocean, threatening to crush me. I stood outside the bedroom door for a long moment, my hand lingering on the door knob. Inside, the hunter was quiet. Too quiet. I should have gone back in. My instincts were screaming at me to open the door, to check on her, to make sure she wasn't hurting herself again. But I forced my hand to drop to my side, forced myself to step back. Going back in was dangerous. Every second I spent in that room, breathing in her scent, that mixture of fear, sweat, and something uniquely sweet, chipped away at my resolve like water eroding stone. 'I was actually twelve the first time we made such a bargain.' Her voice echoed in my head, raw and bitter, haunting me. And now, it didn't sound so much like the words of a manipulator. I pushed off the doorframe and turned my back on the room, my boots echoing on the hardwood floor as I stalked toward the w
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