A whisper of heat against my skin, setting me ablaze with a fear-fueled desire so foreign it unnerved me more than his threats.
“I came to France to destroy the Timehunter society.”
His voice was low, venomous, controlled rage barely leashed.
“Instead, I find them already dead.Maimed.Deformed.Their bones misshapen, their skin melting from their bodies like hot wax.”
The horror of his words seared through me, a new kind of terror, one that dug deep—because I knew it to be true.
Yet I could not escape his grasp.
Or the corrosive touch of the truth.
His fingers seized my chin, wrenching my face toward his darkened stare, forcing me to look at him.
“I don’t like being lied to.”
His words snapped like a whip, raw with danger and warning.
“Tell me the truth, Elizabeth—now.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse thudding in my throat.
“I know nothing,” I persisted, voice shaking, fragile beneath his scrutiny.
But I had to keep my secrets.
His laugh was low—vicious and devoid of warmth.
A blade of mockery, slicing through the thick silence like shattered glass.
“I was there, Elizabeth.”
His voice turned into something deadly, cruel, yet intimate, pressing in on me like an inevitable storm.
“That quaint little cottage of yours?I walked through it all—saw your potions, your bottles, flipped through every page of your precious alchemy book.I read every single word.”
His rage burned, controlled but lethal, an ember smoldering beneath the surface.
“Tell me, how did you come into possession of the alchemy book of Solaris?”
The words struck like a physical blow.
“Where did you get such a powerful book?”
His gaze bore into me, dark and merciless, his posture coiled like a serpent poised to strike.
I stayed silent, my breath uneven, my mind racing for an escape, a distraction, anything.
But he was undeterred.
“Alright.”
His voice dropped lower now, silk wrapped around iron resolve.
“You want to play games with me?”
A shift.
