chapter four
1072 Words
The Thing Sealed Inside Her
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The room had no windows.
No doors.
No visible exit.
And yet—
Shayla knew she couldn’t leave.
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The air itself felt like a cage.
Heavy.
Watching.
Waiting.
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Ryker hadn’t moved.
Still seated across from her like a king in a kingdom that didn’t need walls.
His fingers tapped once against the armrest.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Like he was counting something only he understood.
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“Stand.”
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The command slipped from his lips like a quiet curse.
And just like before—
Her body obeyed.
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Shayla’s breath trembled as she rose, her legs weak beneath her. The cold floor sent sharp chills through her bare feet, grounding her in a reality she wished she could escape.
“I said nothing,” she whispered, panic creeping in. “You didn’t—”
“I don’t need to say it twice.”
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Her throat tightened.
Not fear.
Not entirely.
Something worse.
Recognition.
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“You’re inside my head…” she breathed.
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Ryker tilted his head slightly.
Amused.
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“No,” he said softly. “You’re just not used to being seen.”
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The words sank deep.
Too deep.
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Shayla stepped back instinctively.
“Stay away from me.”
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He laughed.
Low.
Dark.
Unsettling.
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“You think distance matters here?”
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The shadows along the walls shifted.
No—
They leaned.
Like they were listening.
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“Tell me,” Ryker continued, his voice dropping slightly, “when was the first time it happened?”
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Shayla froze.
“What?”
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“That feeling,” he said, watching her closely now. “Like something inside you… wasn’t yours.”
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Her pulse spiked.
Memories tried to surface.
Ones she had buried.
Ones she forced herself to forget.
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“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
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A lie.
A weak one.
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Ryker stood.
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The moment his feet touched the ground—
The entire room seemed to tighten.
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He walked toward her.
Slowly.
Each step echoing like a countdown.
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“You screamed in your sleep as a child,” he said calmly. “Not from pain… but from voices.”
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Her breath hitched.
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“You saw things others couldn’t,” he continued. “Felt things before they happened.”
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“Stop—”
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“And every time it happened…” he stopped right in front of her, lowering his voice to a whisper, “…they punished you for it.”
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“STOP!”
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Shayla shoved him.
Or at least—
She tried to.
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Her hands hit his chest.
And didn’t move him.
Not even an inch.
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But something else did.
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The moment her skin touched his—
The mark on her chest exploded with light.
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A violent surge of energy tore through her body.
Dark.
Cold.
Alive.
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Shayla screamed as she was thrown backward, slamming into the invisible wall behind her.
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The room flickered.
The shadows screamed.
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And for a second—
A brief, terrifying second—
Something else looked out of her eyes.
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Ryker saw it.
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And he smiled.
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“There you are…”
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Shayla collapsed to the floor, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Her fingers dug into the ground as she tried to breathe.
But the air—
The air felt wrong.
Too thick.
Too full.
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“I’m not…” she gasped. “I’m not like you…”
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Ryker crouched in front of her.
Close enough that she could feel the cold radiating from him.
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“No,” he said quietly.
A pause.
Then—
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“You’re worse.”
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Her heart stopped.
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Before she could react—
His hand shot forward.
Gripping her jaw.
Hard.
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“Look at me.”
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She tried to resist.
Tried to turn away.
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But her body betrayed her again.
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Her eyes lifted.
And locked with his.
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Darkness.
Not metaphorical.
Not symbolic.
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Literal darkness.
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His eyes weren’t just black.
They were endless.
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And suddenly—
She was falling.
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Not physically.
But mentally.
Spiritually.
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Dragged into something deeper than thought.
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Visions crashed into her.
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Chains.
Not around her wrists—
But around something inside her.
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A massive, writhing presence.
Buried.
Screaming.
Raging.
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And around it—
Seals.
Ancient.
Glowing.
Cracking.
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Shayla choked on a scream.
“What is that?!”
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Ryker’s voice echoed through the vision.
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“That…”
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The chains tightened.
The thing inside her roared.
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“…is what they were afraid of.”
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Her head snapped violently as she was thrown back into reality.
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She collapsed fully this time, her body curling into itself as tears streamed down her face.
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“No… no, no… get it out… get it OUT!”
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Her voice broke into something unrecognizable.
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Ryker stood over her.
Watching.
Studying.
Unmoved.
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“It can’t be taken out,” he said coldly.
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She shook her head violently.
“I don’t want it! I don’t want this!”
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A pause.
Then—
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“You don’t get to choose.”
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The room fell silent again.
But this time—
It wasn’t empty.
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Because Shayla could still feel it.
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Inside her.
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Awake.
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Watching.
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Waiting.
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And then—
She heard it.
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A whisper.
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Not from Ryker.
Not from the room.
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From within.
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“…finally…”
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Shayla’s entire body went still.
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Her eyes widened slowly.
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“No…” she whispered.
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But it came again.
Clearer this time.
Closer.
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“You found me.”
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A tear slipped down her cheek.
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And for the first time—
True fear settled in her bones.
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Because that voice—
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It sounded like her.
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But darker.
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Hungrier.
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Something ancient stirred behind her eyes.
A faint smile—
Not hers—
touched her lips for just a second.
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Ryker saw it.
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And this time—
Even he didn’t smile.
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“…interesting.”
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Somewhere far beyond the walls of that room…
Power shifted.
Something old—
Something forgotten—
Had just taken its first breath in centuries.
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And Luminaria—
Was about to feel it.
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