I felt fingers slowly touching my neck. Then the pressure started.
Fingers wrapped slowly around my throat, squeezing strongly against my skin. My arms tried to move, but I couldn’t. My eyes were wide as my mouth tried to gasp for air.
I wanted to fight. I had no strength.
The grip tightened, and my vision began to fade at the edges. My head rolled back. My mouth opened wider, but no sound came out.
Nagi reached the mattress, curling near my side, her tongue flicking.
Then a voice brushed against my ear.“She never let us leave.”
That was the last thing I heard before everything slipped away. My eyes closed. My muscles gave in. My body was moving from the mattress, almost like I was floating.Dark pulled me under like water over my head. And I was drowning.
SEVEN
DORIAN
23 years old
My eyes opened slowly, and the attic was still in the dark, except for a few rays of sunshine brushing across my face. The first thing I saw was Lenore.
She was sitting on the floor beside the mattress, her body leaning forward. Her long, dark hair spilled across my chest. For a second, I thought I was still dreaming. But her breath was steady, and her eyes were wide open, watching me.
“Vivian wants you to come down for breakfast,” she said, standing up.
I blinked, trying to shake off the confusion. Realizing she wasn’t a dream made my stomach turn slightly. I pushed myself upright, still feeling the stiffness in my shoulders.
Nagi slithered from under the sheet. At the sight of her, Lenore screamed and stumbled back. I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Scared?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.
She didn’t respond immediately. She took a few cautious steps forward, then stopped.
“No,” she finally said. “Just surprised. That’s all.”
I rolled my eyes and lifted Nagi into my hands. She coiled lazily around my fingers.
“She’s harmless,” I said. “Tell Vivian I’ll be down soon.”
Lenore nodded and turned, rushing down the stairs without looking back.
I glanced at Nagi. Her tongue flicked the air.
“Did she hurt your feelings?”
I placed her back into the white plastic tank beneath the heat lamp.
Turning away, I looked down at the floor, trying to remember how I had even fallen asleep last night. Everything was a blur. Nothing came to mind, not even the moment I had closed my eyes. It felt like someone left a fog where memory should have been.
I walked down the attic steps into the hallway. It was too quiet. As I passed, I noticed a door that hadn’t been there before. My chest tightened. From behind the door came the soft sound of music—I recognized it immediately.
It wasFür Elise.
But as I stepped toward the door, it vanished, and I was back at the edge of the staircase. The music still played, so I followed the sound, moving down the main staircase into the sitting room.
There, Lenore sat at the piano, completely focused. Her posture was perfect, her back straight, her hands gliding across the keys. Light filtered in through the tall windows, casting softlines across the floor. She almost looked holy, but nothing holy lived in Gloomsbury Manor.
She looked different in the sunlight. Healthier. Almost glowing.
