Alina’s lashes trembled before they fully lifted.
Her head felt heavy, a dull ache pulsing behind her temples as if soone had wrapped her thoughts in thick cotton. For a mont she did not move, did not rember, did not understand anything except the strange softness beneath her cheek.
There was fabric against her face.
Her fingers rose instinctively, brushing over smooth silk. She pulled it away quickly and sat upright at once, her body moving before her mind caught up.
Then everything rushed back.
The darkness in her ho.
Calling his na.
The dizziness that swallowed her whole.
Her heart began pounding violently against her ribs, each beat hamring like a warning drum.
She looked around sharply, her eyes wide and searching.
Stone walls rose high above her, ancient and cold. The ceiling arched into shadows she could not penetrate. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn tightly over narrow windows, blocking any hint of outside light. Old antiques lined the room. Carved wooden cabinets with strange symbols. Brass candle holders tarnished with age. An ornate mirror with a dark gilded fra that seed to watch her.
The space was luxurious. Expensive. Old.
This was not her house. This was not anywhere near her house.
Her breath quickened, coming in shallow gasps.
"You woke up?"
The voice ca from the corner of the room, low and calm and utterly terrifying.
Alina’s head snapped toward it. Her entire body stiffened, muscles locking in place.
An old figure stepped forward from the dim light near the wall. His face was weathered, deep lines etched into pale skin like cracks in old porcelain. His eyes were dark, too dark, sharp and observant like a predator studying prey. Two curved horns arched back from his temples, polished to a dark shine, intimidating and undeniable.
Fear flashed openly across her face. She shifted back slightly on the bed, her hands pressing into the mattress.
"Don’t be scared," he said, though the smile stretching across his lips did not soften anything. It was thin. Calculating. Wrong. "I am Elder Horan."
Her fingers tightened into the sheets, knuckles whitening.
"I don’t know you," she said, her voice shaky but firm, pushing through the fear. "Where am I? What is this place?"
Elder Horan folded his hands behind his back and walked a slow circle around the foot of the bed, studying her openly as if she were a specin in a jar. His eyes traveled over her face, her posture, her trembling hands.
"You are safe," he replied smoothly, his voice like oil on water.
"That does not answer my question," she said imdiately, sharper than she intended.
Her eyes moved quickly, assessing the room with desperate calculation. The door was heavy wood with iron bands. The distance was too far to run. The windows were too high to reach. The old man was too confident.
He stopped in front of her again, blocking her view of the door.
"You are in the company of those who have been very eager to et you."
Her heart skipped, stuttering in her chest.
"et ?" she repeated, confusion cutting through fear.
"Yes."
"Without asking? Without permission? You just took ?"
A flicker of amusent crossed his dark gaze, sothing cruel hiding behind it.
"You are more direct than I expected. Most humans wake up crying."
Her pulse was racing, but she forced herself to sit straighter, to not curl into herself. She would not give him that satisfaction.
"Where is Dante?" she demanded, her voice louder now.
At the ntion of his na, sothing subtle shifted in the elder’s expression. A flicker. A crack in his confidence. She called him by his na directly, not Lord Dante.
"He is not here," Horan answered calmly, recovering quickly.
Her stomach dropped like a stone in water.
"What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," he said lightly, waving a dismissive hand. "He is quite occupied elsewhere. Busy with important matters. He will not miss you for so ti."
Alina’s hands trembled slightly in her lap, but she clenched them tightly together to hide it.
"I want to go ho. Right now. You cannot keep here."
"You will," he said. "In ti. When we are finished."
Her breathing beca uneven, panic pressing at the edges of her control.
"Why am I here?" she pressed, needing to understand. "I am nobody. I am just a teacher. I have nothing. I know nothing."
Horan’s gaze sharpened as he studied her face more carefully now, as if trying to see beyond her fear to sothing deeper.
"You have captured the attention of soone important," he said slowly, deliberately. "We wished to understand why. What makes you special?"
Her confusion flickered through the fear, genuine and raw.
"I am just a teacher," she repeated. "I teach children. That is all."
His smile returned, thin and knowing.
"No one is just anything. Especially not soone Lord Dante watches."
She swallowed hard, her throat dry.
"I didn’t do anything and—"
"That," he replied softly, interrupting her, "is precisely what interests us. That you exist without trying."
Her heart pounded harder, loud in her own ears.
She tried to keep her voice steady, to not show how terrified she was.
"You cannot just take soone. This is wrong. This is kidnapping."
"We can," he corrected gently, without remorse. "And we did. The strong take what they want. That is how the world works."
"How long have I been here?" she asked quietly, forcing herself to think, to gather information.
"Not long. A few hours."
"Does he know?" Alina asked, her voice barely steady. "Does Dante know I am missing?"
Elder Horan’s face split into a wide grin, and then he threw his head back and laughed. It was a cruel sound, full of satisfaction and malice, echoing off the stone walls.
"I do not think he will," he said smoothly, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "We sent a shapeshifter. A very talented one. She has taken your place."
Alina’s breath stopped completely.
"What?"
Horan lifted his hand lazily, his fingers curling through the air. The space before her shimred, rippling like disturbed water before sharpening into terrifying clarity.
A translucent screen ford between them, glowing faintly.
Alina’s heart dropped into her stomach.
On the surface of that glowing image, she saw herself.
Or sothing wearing her face.
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