Chapter 5: Extra chapter
698 Words
The carriage rocked as it moved along the narrow forest road.
Arabella had stopped counting how many hours they had been traveling. The trees outside the window looked the same no matter how long she stared at them. Tall. Dark. Endless.
Across from her, Aziel sat quietly.
He had been like that for most of the journey.
Silent.
Watching.
Arabella glanced at him again before looking away.
When she first met him three days ago, she expected someone cold and distant. People had described Lord Aziel in ways that made him sound almost frightening.
But the man sitting across from her now did not look frightening.
Just unreadable.
He caught her staring.
“You’ve been looking out that window for hours,” he said.
His voice broke the silence of the carriage.
Arabella shrugged lightly.
“There isn’t much else to look at.”
Aziel leaned slightly and glanced outside.
“Forest.”
“Yes.”
“More forest.”
“Yes.”
One corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“That sounds like a warning.”
“It’s a fact.”
The carriage rolled over a bump in the road, making the lantern above them swing.
Arabella steadied herself against the seat.
“How much farther?” she asked.
“Not long now.”
She studied him for a moment.
“You’ve said that twice today.”
“And this time I mean it.”
Before she could reply, the carriage slowed.
The horses came to a stop.
Aziel pushed the door open first and stepped down.
Cold air rushed inside.
Arabella followed him out.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she looked up.
And froze.
Ravencrest stood before her.
The fortress rose from the top of a rocky hill, its towers cutting into the dark sky like black spears. Massive stone walls surrounded it, and thick mist curled around the lower cliffs.
The place looked ancient.
And dangerous.
For the first time since the journey began, Arabella was speechless.
Aziel watched her reaction quietly.
“Well,” he said.
“What do you think?”
Arabella slowly turned in a circle, taking everything in.
“It’s… big.”
Aziel let out a quiet breath that might have been a laugh.
“That’s the first thing most people say.”
“Should I say something more poetic?”
“You’re welcome to try.”
Arabella looked back at the towering fortress.
“It looks like it could swallow someone whole.”
Aziel’s expression changed slightly.
“That,” he said, “is a much more accurate description.”
The large gates of Ravencrest began to open.
The heavy sound echoed across the hill.
Guards stood inside the courtyard, already watching them.
Arabella felt their eyes the moment they stepped through the gates.
Whispers spread among the servants nearby.
She leaned closer to Aziel.
“Are they always this welcoming?”
“They’re curious.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“That’s comforting.”
Aziel glanced at her.
“You’re the future lady of Ravencrest. People tend to notice.”
Arabella looked around the courtyard again.
Tall stone walls surrounded them on all sides now.
For some reason, the air inside felt colder.
“Do you like it?” Aziel asked.
The question surprised her.
She thought for a moment.
“It’s… impressive,” she admitted.
“Not the word I expected.”
“What word were you hoping for?”
Aziel looked up at the dark towers of the fortress.
“Home.”
Arabella followed his gaze.
For a brief moment, she wondered if Ravencrest truly felt like home to him.
Or if it was simply the place he was trapped in.
He turned toward the main doors of the fortress.
“Come,” he said.
“Let me show you inside.”
The massive doors slowly opened as they approached.
Darkness waited beyond them.
Arabella took one last look at the sky before stepping forward.
The moment she crossed the entrance, she felt it.
Something about Ravencrest was different.
Heavy.
Like the walls themselves were holding secrets.
And somehow…
she had just walked straight into them.
- Writer
