“Nothing is fair,” she said, and released my throat.
“Selene?” I questioned, panicked, as she turned from me. She didn’t respond.
Panic swelled quickly within my chest. I felt my breaths becoming shorter, my lungs constricting.
“This isn’t funny, Selene. You know I can’t see a thing,” I said, trying not to sound as frightened as I was.
“Selene!” I almost yelled. Had she left me?
I screamed and jumped in fright when my arm was taken. “Shh, pet, I’m here. I was finding the torch,” she explained, and a spark filled the darkness—then another—and suddenly therewas a flame lighting a small circle, revealing Selene and stone walls.
She held her hand out towards me, and I took it quickly. “Leaving you down here was an empty threat. You know I would never leave you behind,” she said.
“Not all your threats are empty,” I replied.
“I never said they were,” she said, and the way the orange glow of the fire lit her face cast enough shadow to make her smirk extra threatening.
“Where are we?” I asked, internally shaking off my panic as she began to guide me slowly away from the ladder.
“We are in the secret passageways. My mother showed them to me when I was a girl. They lead to the servants’ kitchen, but the exist was blocked by cabinets many years ago. They also lead to beyond the grounds of the estate—an escape route. That is where I am taking you now.”
“Why are you showing me this?” I asked.
“Does it not interest you?” she questioned, and I heard uncertainty in her voice.
“The secret passageways of Ardens Estate intrigued and excited me as a child,” she explained, and I felt terrible, realising that she only wished to share with me something that held happy memories for her.
“It does. It does, really. I’m sorry. I think I’m just a little scared of the dark, after… well, yeah,” I said and became aware of the anxiety I felt, which had begun the moment I had looked down into the blackness of the hatch.
I didn’t enjoy how reminders of the summer would sneak up on me, wrap me up in anxiety and fear, and affect my emotions without my notice. It was insidious. Would it ever stop?
“I did not think,” Selene replied speaking quietly.
“You have nothing to fear, not with me. I will show you by touch where the oil torches and spark makers are kept. Not that you could enter the passageway without me—the seal would not unlock the hatch without my blood—but for your peace of mind.”
“Thank you,” I said, and squeezed her hand affectionately. “I can imagine you were never the type to be scared of the dark, not if you were exploring the secret passageways by yourself.”
“The dark is not dark to me, pet. You have studied vampire anatomy,” she said, almost reprimanding.
“I wondered if you had night vision. Not all purebloods do,” I answered.
“Why didn’t you ask?” she asked.
I shrugged, “I would feel awkward asking, I guess. You don’t always answer my questions anyway,” I said, and added quietly, cheekily, “You can be a little scary.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask,” she said and turned to me. “Take the risk.” She winked, and the way the fire of the torch lit her face with a warm orange glow in the darkness made her something beautifully terrifying.
“Wow,” I said, the sound softly whooshing from my lips, unconsciously giving voice to my admiration.
Selene’s laughter made me painfully aware of myself.
“We’re almost there,” she told me, turning back to the path ahead. “We take the turn on the left,” she said just as a fork in the so-far-straight path became visible.
We took the left path and walked for a few more minutes. Selene stopped us and pointed up, holding the torch high so I could see another ladder.
“I won’t be able to reach that without a boost,” I said.
“It pulls down,” she told me, reaching up. Her fingers just caught the lowest rung, and she pulled it down, the ladder clattering loudly as it fell to about my waist height.
