Chapter7: The Hidden Room
460 Words
*CHAPTER 7: The Hidden Room*
The hidden door slammed shut behind us.
Darkness.
Only Duke Alaric Blackthorn’s breathing. And mine.
And the sound of the Coven pounding on the other side.
“Don’t make a sound,” he ordered. His voice was rough.
His hand was still gripping mine. Tight. Like if he let go I’d disappear.
We moved through the dark. Stone walls. Cold air.
The mark on my wrist started to burn.
“Ah—” I hissed.
Alaric stopped instantly. In the pitch black I felt his fingers lift my wrist to his face.
“Is it bleeding?” he whispered.
“No. It’s... hot.”
The moment I said it, heat shot up my arm. Into my chest.
And suddenly I could see him.
Not with my eyes. With the curse.
I saw Alaric at 16. Chained in this same room. Screaming.
A woman with my face standing over him, chanting.
I gasped and pulled away. “You— that was me? In your memory?”
Alaric cursed under his breath. “The blood vow is starting. We’re seeing each other’s past.”
A torch flared to life.
We were in a small stone room. No windows. One bed. One chair.
His prison.
He let go of my hand like it burned him.
“You shouldn’t be here, Elena Hart.”
“Where else would I go?” I whispered. “The Coven wants to kill me.”
He turned away. The black veins were back on his neck. Worse.
“Then you’ll die with me.”
The word _die_ made the mark flare again. Pain lanced through my wrist.
I cried out and stumbled.
In one second Alaric was in front of me. Catching me.
His arms around me. His scarred back pressed to the cold wall.
“Don’t,” he breathed into my hair. “Don’t say my name like that.”
My heart was pounding. His was too.
The mark on my wrist glowed faintly in the dark. Matching the veins on his skin.
There was only 1 inch between our faces.
“The blood vow,” I whispered. “Is this the only way to stop it?”
His eyes dropped to my lips. Then back to my eyes. Tortured.
“The only way,” he said. “But I won’t take you like this. Not in a cage. Not like this.”
A loud BOOM shook the door.
“They found us,” Alaric growled.
He pulled back, and for the first time I saw it.
Desire. Fear. And something softer.
He grabbed a dagger from his boot and pressed it into my hand.
“If they take you, use this. Don’t let them have you, Elena.”
*TO BE CONTINUED
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