All Chapters of STRANGER ATTRACTION : Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

“Just come with me,” Kayla said, tightening her grip around my hand.I let her pull me along. My feet moved, but my body felt empty, like all the strength had drained out of me. I followed without arguing, too tired to resist.We walked for a long time.“Are we there yet?” I asked, my voice weak.“No,” she replied, not slowing down, not letting go. I had a feeling she knew that the moment she did, I would turn back.We kept going.Minutes passed, maybe more. I asked again.“Are we there yet?”“No,” she said, firmer this time.I lifted my head as we continued walking, and my chest tightened when I realized how far we had gone. Houses were no longer clustered around us. The road felt lonely. Quiet. Almost abandoned.“Kayla,” I said, slowing my steps. “We’re really far from home.”“I know,” she answered calmly. “But we’re close. I promise.”She pulled me forward until we stopped in front of a house.It was a low bungalow, simple and isolated, sitting alone like it had been placed there o

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice unsteady as I stared at him, certain I had seen him somewhere before.He did not answer. He only watched me.I took a step closer, and that was when I noticed it. With every step I took toward him, his body seemed to grow. He stretched taller, broader, heavier, like the land itself was feeding his form. I should have stopped, but something unseen kept pushing me forward, urging my feet to move even when fear settled deep in my chest.By the time I reached him, he towered above me. I felt small, insignificant, like a speck standing before something ancient and endless. I lifted my gaze, still searching his face for familiarity, when something on his hand caught my eye.A seal.It was carved into the back of his palm, clear and glowing faintly. The same seal I had seen on the flag. The same one on my back.My breath hitched.“Who are you?” I asked again, slower this time.“I am the one you have been eager to find,” he said at last. His voice echoed, not

I stayed awake all through the night, staring at the ceiling and replaying everything that had happened minutes ago. First, there was the old man in my dream, a presence I was still struggling to understand. Then Horris appeared in my kitchen and said things that made no sense and too much sense at the same time. What was really happening?I spent the entire night turning that question over in my head, again and again, until my thoughts began to blur. Somewhere between fear and exhaustion, I reached a conclusion. Horris had left when Iris interrupted us. He had not finished what he wanted to say. That meant I had to find him, and it had to be the first thing I did when morning came.My eyes shifted to the clock on the wall. I paused.“Huh?”I sat up, my heart jumping. “Where did all the time go? Six thirty already?”I rushed to the window and pulled the cotton curtain aside. Pale morning light spilled into the room. It was already day.Without wasting another second, I grabbed my slip

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please just let me go. I didn’t mean to spy on any conversation. I just wanted to know the truth,” I said, the words spilling out in panic.“Lies!” her voice rose, sharp and filled with disgust. “And I detest it.”Horris pinned my wrist to the wall, and before I could understand what was happening, my other hand followed without him touching it. My eyes widened as I watched my arm lift and press against the wall on its own, as if an unseen force had seized it.When I turned back to him, his eyes had turned completely white. They began to glow, brightening in a way that made my heart slam violently against my ribs. It felt like he was about to strike me—or worse. I shut my eyes tightly, bracing myself.Then Kayla’s voice cut through the air.“Horris?! No!”My eyes flew open. Both Horris and I turned toward the door to see Kayla standing there, her body trembling.Horris released me at once. I dropped to the ground like a chain had been snapped