Challenge Accepted
423 Words
The doors shut with a sound that felt final.
The air inside smelled of smoke. Something sharper remained below like—iron and blood dried long ago.
Damian sat behind a black desk carved from a single slab of stone. He didn't rise when I entered; He didn't need to.
His gaze cut through me as if already weighing cost against worth.
"Sit."
The single word landed harder than a shout.
I crossed the room and forced my knees not to betray the tremor in them. The chair was colder than it looked.
Silence stretched.
The clock on the wall ticked once, twice.
I realized he was letting the quiet smother me. Vincent's silence on the plane had been heavy but Damian's silence was a danger.
Finally he spoke. His voice was even and detached.
"You're here because a debt was paid in flesh and your name doesn't matter and your past doesn't matter. Only this: you stay, you obey and you breathe when I allow it."
I swallowed hard.
His voice was like a bullet piercing through my heart.
He hadn't asked me anything, He hadn't even looked at me long enough to pretend I was a person.
"Is that clear?" His eyes lifted at last and they were sharp and dangerous.
"Yes," I whispered.
But the word burned my tongue. I couldn't let him think I was only a shadow. Not yet and not ever.
I raised my chin even though my stomach twisted.
"You can change my choices Mr. Blackwood, but don't mistake that for obedience."
The words hung in the air like a gunshot.
Vincent shifted near the wall with a flicker of warning in his eyes.
Damian didn't move.
He only studied me as though I'd surprised him or amused him. His silence stretched again.
This time it was longer and more deliberate torture. My pulse pounded in my ears.
Then he leaned back in his chair. He folded his hands like a judge delivering a sentence.
"Good," he said softly. "Spine makes the breaking sweeter."
I froze.
His next words sounded like a blade, put in between my ribs.
"Tomorrow you'll prove your rebellion and either way I will win."
He stood finally.
His presence filling the room
Vincent opened the door behind me.
I didn't move. I couldn't.
Damian's eyes locked on mine with a promise colder than death.
"Run if you want, little bird, because I enjoy the hunt."
The door shut and left me in darkness with my heart a drum against my ribs.
- Writer
