"𝑪𝑶𝑹𝑽𝑼𝑺: 𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑮"

𝟒: 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑲𝑬𝒀

As Corvus guided me toward the magnificent dining table, his hand firm on my waist, the silk of my dress tangled around my legs with every step. The table looked less like it was set for a banquet and more like it was prepared for a trial. While crystal glasses shimmered in the dim light, the candle flames rising from silver candelabras at both ends of the table made the sharp lines of Corvus’s face look even more dangerous.

As he tucked me into my chair, he leaned down and whispered into my ear,

"Don't be afraid, Elara. There are only truths on the menu tonight. That is, if you can stomach them..."

When I sat across from him, the distance between us was so vast that I felt as if I were on the opposite side of a canyon. Yet, his ice-cold, piercing gaze erased that distance in seconds. As the staff silently placed the plates and retreated into the shadows, nothing remained but the crackle of the fireplace and our heavy breathing.

Corvus slowly grasped his crystal glass, swirling the red wine within.

"That small town abroad..."

he said suddenly, his voice sweeping across the table like a freezing wind.

"The narrow streets of Lyon are a wonderful place for one to hide their past, aren't they?"

I froze. In my mind, the sound of a fork hitting the marble floor echoed like a thunderclap. I didn't look away, but the rhythm of my heart instantly derailed.

"How do you know?"

I asked, unable to stop my voice from trembling.

Corvus leaned forward slightly. The candlelight accentuated the predatory glint in his eyes.

"In my world, no secret is without an owner, Elara. Especially if that secret belongs to a woman under my roof. I know what you left behind there. Who you were running from, and what actually happened in that warehouse that night..."

He fell silent. He took a sip of wine, never breaking eye contact for a single second.

"Your father’s debts were merely an excuse,"

he continued, his voice becoming even more suffocating.

"I didn't bring you here; the shadow of the corpses you left behind brought you here. Now tell me... is my shadow darker, or the invisible blood on your hands?"

When Corvus’s sentence about the

"invisible blood"

drifted across the table like a cold draft, I didn't crumble as he expected. On the contrary, everything that had been trembling inside me froze, replaced by a will of steel. I leaned back into my chair, tilted my chin up, and offered a faint smile to the man who thought he had cornered his prey. It was a smile of defiance.

"The streets of Lyon are narrow, Corvus, that’s true,"

I said, my voice sounding much deeper and more determined than before.

"But they are not as suffocating as your grand mansion. Instead of worrying about the blood on my hands, shall we talk about the bones upon which the foundations of this house are built?"

Corvus’s fingers tightened around his glass for a moment. The mocking expression in his eyes was replaced by pure surprise, followed by a dangerous admiration.

"You cannot frighten me with my past,"

I continued, leaning slightly toward the table.

"Because while I was running from that darkness, I learned how to become the greatest nightmare for people like you. If you think you brought me here as a sacrifice, you are mistaken. I sat at this table not as your prey, but as the darkness itself—one that even you cannot handle."

I placed my hand on the table, just inches from his.

"Yes, I left something in Lyon. But the only thing I left behind was my innocence. And believe me, Corvus, a woman who is no longer innocent is the greatest danger to a man like you. You say you collect souls... but be careful not to lose your own way while getting lost in mine."

Corvus remained silent for a while. As the firelight cast harsh shadows across his face, his gaze climbed from my lips back to my eyes. Suddenly, he stood up, walked around the table, and stood right beside me. Leaning down, he braced his hands on either side of my chair, trapping me in his prison once again.

"I like it when you show your teeth, Elara,"

he whispered, his breath burning my temple.

"Because taming a wolf is much more enticing than spending time with a lamb. But remember; in my forest, there is only one Alpha. And he is none other than the man who is taking your breath away right now."

His whisper echoed in my ear more like a promise than a threat. He didn't pull back; instead, he increased the pressure. At that moment, he reached into his pocket, pulled out an old silver key, and dropped it on the table in front of me.

"Defiance is easy, Elara,"

he said, his voice now calmer but much deeper.

"The real question is whether you have the courage to enter the darkness you're defying. If you truly aren't afraid, you will open that black door at the end of the hall tonight. There, you will see why you are here and why I am after you."

As I reached for the key, he stopped me. Placing his finger under my chin, he forced my face toward him.

"But I must warn you; once you step through that door, you can never be that innocent woman from Lyon again. That door is a one-way ticket."

Leaving me there with the cold glint of the silver key, he turned and vanished into the dark corridor. The candles on the table were nearly spent. The fire was turning to ash. I slowly reached for the silver key. As the coldness of the metal seeped into my skin, the heavy silence Corvus left behind filled the room.

Either I would open that door and learn everything, or I would remain a prisoner within the boundaries he drew. The choice was mine, but Corvus had already made the choice for me.

I stood up and walked toward the corridor. The chill of the silver key in my hand felt as if it were freezing the blood in my veins. The mansion’s hallways were shrouded in midnight darkness; only the faint moonlight filtering through the windows drifted over the marble like a ghost.

I hesitated when I reached the black door he had mentioned. My heart fluttered like a bird straining against its cage. I slid the key into the lock. The mechanical click echoed through the silent hall like an explosion. I pushed the door open slowly.

At first, it was pitch black, but as soon as I stepped inside, sensor lights flickered on dimly. The sight before me was heavier than even my worst nightmare in Lyon.