THE TOMB

Eira.

The name slammed into me like a strike to the skull.

My eyes flew open, and pain followed—throbbing, blinding. It pulsed at the back of my head, squeezing my vision, making my breath catch. My throat felt raw, my body felt too heavy, like I’d been wrung out and left to dry.

I swallowed, trying to push past the ache.

I wasn’t home.

I wasn’t safe.

And I wasn’t alone.

“You shouldn’t have run. At least not in the rain.”

That voice.

I stiffened, fingers curling into the sheets. I knew who I would see before I turned, but it still sent a cold rush through me. Kael.

Even standing across the room, he took up all the space, all the air. His presence pressing into me too much. The worst part was that he wasn’t even looking at me like he was angry.

Like he was anything at all.

I gritted my teeth, my heartbeat a ragged, uneven beat in my chest. It didn’t matter how much I hurt. I shoved the pain down and forced myself to sit up.

“Let me go,” I rasped. My voice was hoarse, but steady enough for him to understand.

Kael’s lips parted, but only slightly. “No. I cannot.”

A bitter laugh ripped from me before I could stop it. It sounded broken, jagged, a little too much like a sob.

“Why?” My throat clenched around the word. “Why am I here? I am nothing to you.” My head throbbed harder, my vision swimming, but I shook my head. “Nothing. And yet you do this—keep me here—like I matter.”

Something in me cracked on that last word. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe it was the way he just stood there, still as stone, as if none of this touched him.

Kael didn’t answer.

No flicker of emotion. No reaction. Just a single step back. “You can move about the mansion and the garden. But not beyond the tree line.” His voice was flat and final. “If you need something, Owen will get it.”

Then he turned.

I shoved off the bed, stumbling as my legs fought to hold me up. “Kael.”

He didn’t stop.

My nails dug into my palms, my pulse a wild thing, erratic and desperate under my skin. “Tell me why.” My voice cracked, my body shook. “Tell me why you brought me here.”

Kael halted. His shoulders went stiff.

For a second, I thought—

But then he exhaled, voice barely above a murmur.

“It’s not the right time, Lila.”

And then the door slammed shut.

I stood there, breathless, shaking. The air in my lungs turned thick that I had to force air up my lungs. My hands trembled, aching with the need to do something—to break, to hit, to run. But there was nowhere to go. No one coming to help.

I sank back onto the bed, curling my fingers into the sheets as I let the silence swallowed me whole.

I wasn’t getting out.

Not yet.

And maybe… not ever.

I don’t know how long I stayed like that. Minutes. Hours. The pain in my head dulled, but the pain in my chest didn’t.

Then the door opened again.

I flinched before I could stop myself.

But it wasn’t Kael, It was Owen and my breath hitched.

The beast.

The one that had chased me.

Not a normal wolf. Nothing like the ones I had grown up with.

The memory rushed back in pieces—flashes of dark fur, glowing eyes, the sharp, snarling snap of teeth as I ran.

I pressed back against the headboard before I could stop myself.

Owen didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he did and just didn’t care. His steps were soft, unhurried, as he carried a tray to the table. He barely spared me a glance before setting it down.

“I can smell your fear,” he murmured.

I clenched the sheets tighter, forcing my hands to stay still.

“You must have been terrified when you saw me.” He glanced at me again, his lips curving—not quite a smile, not quite anything, really. “That wasn’t my intention.”

I swallowed hard. My throat burned. “You’re not a normal wolf.”

His mouth twitched, but there was no humor in it. “No.”

The words felt small. Hollow. Like they barely scratched the surface of what he was.

And then—

“I remember…”

The words left me before I could stop them.

Owen stilled.

The shift in him was instant. A sharp inhale. The way his shoulders went stiff, his eyes narrowing just slightly.

He took a slow step forward.

I pushed myself back.

His voice dropped lower. “What do you remember?”

My heart slammed against my ribs. The answer dangled just out of reach, teasing, taunting. I tried to focus, to grab onto it, but the harder I reached, the more it slipped away. Like smoke. My head throbbed again and I pressed a hand to my temple.

“I—I don’t know.”

Owen exhaled, his jaw unclenching.

“You should eat,” he said after a moment. “Use the medicine on the table when you’re done. You don’t have a true wolf, Lila. You need to take care of your health.” He hesitated, then murmured, “You’re fragile.”

I swallowed.

His smile was small. Almost sad.

“I’ll come back for the dishes,” he said and turned to leave.

I shot forward, grabbing his wrist. “Owen—help me.”

He froze.

For a breath, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes. But then, slowly, he pulled away.

“…I can’t.” His voice was quiet, almost careful. “He would go mad if he found you gone.”

A beat of silence.

Then, softer—almost pleading—

“Just stay.”

And then he was gone, leaving me alone in the dim, suffocating quiet.

Alone with the question curling like a snake in my gut.

What did Kael want with me?

———

The food sat untouched on the tray, the broth now a cloudy, unappetizing pool of grease. Hunger burned at my insides, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat. My stomach was twisted too tight, wound up in knots that food wouldn’t untangle.

Not when my thoughts were eating me alive.

I couldn’t stay here.

The walls of this room pressed in, the silence too thick. I needed to move—to breathe—before I lost my mind.

Kael had said I could move around the house so—

I pushed off the bed. My legs were stiff, my muscles protesting from sitting too long, but I ignored it. The cold floor met my bare feet as I crossed to the door. My fingers hesitated on the handle. Then, before I could second-guess myself, I slipped into the hallway.

It was too quiet.

No voices. No footsteps. Just the flickering of lanterns lining the corridor, their glow stretching long, thin shadows across the walls. They flickered and curled with every breath of air, distorting into shapes I didn’t want to think about.

I had no idea where I was going.

I turned down one hallway, then another. Each one looked the same, lined with doors I didn’t dare open, stretching endlessly in both directions. My heartbeat picked up.

And then—I saw it.

A door, slightly open.

Lantern light flickered from within, warmer than the cold, muted glow of the hallway. My pulse pounded. Something in me whispered to turn around, to go back, but my feet ignored it.

I stepped closer.

The space beyond was cavernous, the air filled with the smell of wet earth and the scent of melted wax that clung to the stone walls, flickering candlelight casting long, restless shadows.

Then I saw them.

Tombs.

Rows of them, stretching into the dim light. Some had names, letters carved deep into the stone. Others were so worn with time they had become nothing but faceless slabs and a shudder ran down my spine.

I barely had time to take it in before I saw him.

Kael.

On his knees.

My breath caught.

He was in the center of it all, head bowed, hands clenched into fists on his thighs. His shoulders shook—just slightly—but it was enough. Enough to make me want to run. Enough to make the air around him feel wrong.

His breathing was harsh, uneven. And then in a low and raw voice, I heard him whisper.

“Why?”

I flinched.

His voice was hoarse, wrecked.

“Why did you take her from me?”

The words splintered in the air and I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight.

I should have left.

I should have turned and walked away, but my feet were rooted to the stone, my pulse hammering against my ribs. Kael’s hands curled tighter, nails biting into his palms. His jaw locked, muscles twitching, and then his head tilted to the open sky and—

He cursed the gods.

A breath too loud, slipped from my lips, and I took a single step back.

My heel scuffed the stone.

The sound—small, barely there—might as well have been a gunshot.

Kael’s body went rigid.

His head snapped up.

Shit.

I spun, heart slamming against my ribs, but before I could take a step—

A hand closed around my wrist.

I gasped. My breath stuttered in my chest as I turned quickly—

And locked eyes with a stranger.

Tall.

Broad.

His grip was tight, his fingers pressing just tight enough to make his strength known. But it was his eyes that pinned me in place—they were so white that it had my breath stuttering.

Then he spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

His voice was quiet, soft. But it was the way he said it that sent a slow chill down my spine.

I swallowed, my mind scrambling for an answer, for anything—

“I—I got lost,” I whispered.

He didn’t let go.

Didn’t blink.

The flickering lanterns cast shadows across his face, deepening the sharp angles, the tight set of his mouth.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Something flickered in his expression. Not quite anger, not quite anything. His gaze flicked past me—just briefly—toward Kael, still kneeling among the tombs.

Then, without a word, his grip tightened.

Not enough to hurt.

Just enough to make something very clear.

“Go back to your room.”

I didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

A heartbeat passed. Then another.

Then he took a step forward and the way his eyes shifted was so dark and cold that I gave a quick nod.

I knew better than to push my luck.

I turned. Let him lead me away, his grip firm but not forceful. And for the second time that night—

I didn’t dare look back.