My heart pounds in my chest, the sound echoing in the small space. The silence is interrupted only by the muffled sounds of my fists hitting the door, creating a desperate rhythm. The wooden door reverberates with each strike, but there is no response from the other side.
With every breath, the air feels thinner, suffocating me. I struggle to steady my breathing, fighting against the rising wave of nausea that threatens to overpower me. I can taste the metallic tang of fear in my mouth, my throat tightening with each passing moment.
Time feels distorted, as if the minutes stretch into hours within the confines of this suffocating closet. Desperation fuels my determination, pushing me to keep banging on the door, hoping for a miracle, praying for someone to rescue me from this claustrophobic nightmare. My muscles ache from the repeated exertion, and my trembling limbs betray my growing fatigue.
A whine escapes me, my forehead thudding on the door as I slump down in defeat. At the very moment the door opens and I spill out onto the marble floor, cool, fresh air licking my sweaty skin.
“Everly?”
Panting heavily, I blink up at Raiden, his formidable presence towering above me.
"Hey, batman," I rasp, my voice barely audible and my throat feeling dry and scratchy.
Raiden’s big silver eyes roam over me. I’m sure I look like a hot mess. Squatting down, he reaches out, swiping the hair from my sweaty face, concern written all over his features.
“What happened?” he asks softly.
I let out a raspy laugh, as I roll onto my back and gaze up at the ceiling. It’s a nice ceiling. High, too.
“Everly?”
“I was locked in the closet by some fae.”
Raiden emits a low growl, and I glance at him, noticing his tense muscles. “Who?”
“Like I’d know,” I retort, taking in a shaky breath.
“What did they look like?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“When Maxon finds–”
“He won’t be finding out. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry?! Look at you, you're shakier than a newborn unicorn.”
“You have unicorns here?” I ask, completely breathless. “I want to see a unicorn.”
Raiden rises with a huff, his burly arms folding over his chest as I struggle to stand. As he predicted, my legs tremble uncontrollably, and I clench my teeth in an attempt to steady them.
“Why did you react like that?”
Placing my hand on the wall, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What do you mean?”
Raiden waves his hand over my body. “Like that. Panicked, sweaty, trembling, hyperventilating . . . ”
“Oh, that.” I bite my lip and look away. “It’s nothing.”
“Tell me. Please?”
I look at him and arch an eyebrow. “Did you just say please?”
“Don’t get used to it,” he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.
I chuckle and lean against the wall. I have no energy left to feel embarrassed or fight him on this. “When I was growing up, I used to get locked in small spaces a lot, sometimes for days at a time.”
Raiden jerks forward a step. “What?!”
