WILLA
"The anatomy," Steven said, grabbing a pen and sheet of paper from the desk.
I had decided to tell them the truth. Well... part of it. Not about being Willa or from another world.
I doubted any of that would make sense to them. If anything, it would only make sound completely insane.
No one would believe anyway. Not when I looked exactly like Elyse.
But the monster? That part was real.
And for now, the conversation had been going surprisingly well. Neither Steven nor Whitney looked at like I was losing my mind.
For the first ti since arriving here, I felt like soone might actually be able to help .
Whitney had promised they would.
Trusting people had never co easily to , but sohow, I trusted her.
Maybe it was instinct. Maybe my heart simply wanted to believe Elyse’s parents wouldn’t hurt .
"The anatomy, Elyse," Steven repeated patiently. "That’s the only way I can help identify it. If we search the monster database, we might find sothing."
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.
"It was... tall," I whispered.
The mont the words left , the mory crashed into again.
The hallway. The wall digging painfully into my back. Its dark, empty eyes fixed on .
That scratchy creepy voice. The promises it listed still echoed in my head.
My life for food. For won. For pleasure. For aningless things.
I clenched my hands tightly and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the mory away.
It didn’t leave.
"Elyse..."
"I’m going to find you," the voice hissed inside my head. "And when I do, I’ll kill you."
My heartbeat lurched violently. A shiver tore through despite the warmth filling the room.
"Surrender now."
I opened my mouth, closed it, then tried again. A sharp gasp ripped from my throat.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
It felt like the monster’s hands were around my throat again, squeezing tighter and tighter while I struggled for air.
"Elyse...?"
"God... please..." I choked out through clenched teeth. "I didn’t co this far just to die."
I wanted to live. I wanted to live. I wanted to live.
I chanted like a mantra. Over again until my head was spinning.
"Elyse!"
I wheezed violently and snapped out of it. My eyes flew open.
Whitney was in front of , gripping my shoulders as she shook gently.
She cupped my cheek when I still didn’t respond imdiately.
"Wake up, Elyse."
Then she turned toward Steven, panic flashing across her face.
"I told you not to push her!" she cried. "Of course she said she could do it, but can’t you see she’s traumatized?"
"How was I supposed to know?" Steven shot back defensively. "She said she was ready. I didn’t force her."
"Well stop asking her!" Whitney snapped.
Steven scoffed under his breath and shook his head, but thankfully didn’t argue further. Whitney turned back to , her eyes glistening with tears.
Before I could react, she pulled into her arms and held tightly.
"I’m sorry," she whispered shakily. "I shouldn’t have let him ask you that. This is my fault."
"No," I finally managed to say.
My own voice sounded distant. Weak. Whitney pulled back imdiately to look at .
"I wanted to tell you," I admitted softly.
Steven let out a tired sigh. Whitney shot him another irritated glare, making him raise both hands in surrender.
"I’m sorry," Steven said, pushing the paper and pen aside. He straightened from where he had been leaning against the desk. "I guess that wasn’t the best approach."
I looked away from him, letting my gaze wander around the room instead. I had been doing that ever since stepping inside.
Steven’s office was massive—large enough to pass as a bedroom. White walls. White ceiling. White curtains.
Everything looked too sterile. Too clean. It reminded of a hospital.
dical equipnt filled the room. An examination table stood near the wall beside an ultrasound machine and an X-ray monitor. I knew Steven was a doctor, but I hadn’t expected his ho office to feel this clinical.
He walked back around the desk and lowered himself into his chair.
"I’ll prepare a report confirming your amnesia," he began.
"The monster wasn’t anything I’ve ever seen before," I interrupted quietly.
My eyes remained fixed on the skeleton model standing near the coat rack across the room.
"It was huge," I continued. "Ugly. Its eyes were too large for its head, and its feet looked twisted... misshapen."
A shiver crawled through .
"It looked like sothing dragged straight out of hell."
And nightmare.
Silence settled heavily in the room. Slowly, I looked back at Steven. But he wasn’t looking at .
He was staring at Whitney.
Again, that sa silent understanding passed between them without a single word being spoken.
"I think it was sent to kill ," I added, hoping the information might help sohow.
"That’s ridiculous," Whitney grunted suddenly as she rose to her feet.
I flinched instinctively at the sharpness in her voice.
"No one is sending monsters after you," she said firmly. "It was most likely a coincidence."
Was it really just a coincidence?
Maybe I was overthinking it. But every ti that thing appeared, it said the sa thing.
That it was going to kill .
And how could a monster suddenly attack in a world where monsters had never even existed to before all this?
Whitney paced restlessly across the office. From the window. To the center of the room. Then back again.
She muttered under her breath nonstop, too low for to properly catch.
"How many tis have you seen it?" Steven asked, frowning.
Unlike Whitney, he remained composed, but concern still lingered heavily in his eyes. Concern. And suspicion.
"Twice," I whispered.
I didn’t elaborate further. Whitney’s movents faltered slightly. She was trembling.
It would’ve been easy to miss with how much she kept moving, but I noticed it in the subtle shake of her hands.
Eventually, she crossed the room toward Steven and began speaking to him in hushed tones.
I strained to hear them, catching only fragnts.
"Hollow..."
"...monster..."
The words ant nothing to .
Trying to listen beca pointless, so I gave up and let my attention drift around the office again instead.
That was when I noticed the large frad photograph hanging on the wall.
In it was Steven, Whitney, Elyse and a boy.
He looked a little older than Elyse and, strangely enough, looked nothing like either Steven or Whitney.
Dark hair. Defined cheekbones. Eyes as dark as midnight. A sharp angular jaw set against the softer heart-shaped and round features the rest of the family seed to share.
I frowned slightly at the picture. Was he their son?
I rose quietly and walked toward the picture while Whitney and Steven continued their hushed conversation behind .
My gaze settled on the photograph. Mostly on Elyse.
The girl who looked exactly like . For a mont, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Where was Elyse?nWhat had really happened to her? And was the sa monster hunting her too?
From the way her parents reacted earlier, it was obvious they understood more than they were saying. I wanted to ask questions. So many of them.
But sothing told now wasn’t the right ti.
"That was your fifteenth birthday."
I startled violently at Whitney’s voice behind and turned too quickly.
She offered a small wistful smile.
"You insisted on taking a proper family picture that day," she said softly. "Your father and I couldn’t say no. He loved you dearly."
I looked back at the photograph again, my gaze drifting toward the black-haired boy beside Elyse.
He was definitely part of the family. But where was he now?
"Co," Whitney said gently. "Your father is about to finish the report."
I nodded and followed her back across the room.
This ti, I sat on the examination table while Steven approached with a clipboard in hand. He asked a few questions, jotting things down occasionally before eventually returning to his desk and typing up the report.
anwhile, Whitney stood behind , softly braiding my hair while talking about things that had happened during the two months Elyse had been gone.
"Done," Steven said.
He rose from his chair and walked toward the printer. Once the paper slid out, he skimd through it quickly before a satisfied smile crossed his face.
Reaching into his desk drawer, he pulled out a small brown envelope, folded the docunt neatly, and slipped it inside.
Then he handed it to . I took the envelope slowly, staring down at it.
"Give that to Headmaster Alaric," Steven said. "He’ll understand why you need it."
His gaze softened slightly. "You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone when you don’t want to."
I really didn’t want to.
But in an academy like Lykaon Royal—where Elyse was popular—it felt impossible to avoid questions forever.
"You don’t owe anyone an explanation," Whitney added gently.
I gave a small nod.
"Rember this," Whitney said suddenly, gripping both my shoulders before lowering herself slightly to et my eyes.
Her expression turned serious. Almost urgent.
"You are Elyse Maddox," she said. "Eighteen years old. Born January eighteenth."
I nodded slowly, holding her gaze.
"You entered Lykaon Royal Academy at sixteen and were placed into House Valerius after your evaluation."
"Why Valerius?" I asked with a slight frown.
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