A chill ran down my spine. Shadows, the feeling of being watched… it couldn’t be Lilith, could it? She’d always relished making others feel her presence, turning her obsession into something tactile, something people could feel even in her absence. And Dove—I’d thought letting her go would mean letting her find peace, but it seemed that all I’d done was plunge her into another kind of nightmare.
“What kind of notes?” I asked, my voice low and tight, though inside, every nerve was on fire. I had to know, needed every detail. “The balloons… did they say anything specific?”
Christina’s anger faltered for a moment, a flicker of sadness flashing across her face as if reliving Dove’s pain. “One of them said, ‘Did you miss me?’ Another, ‘You can’t escape me.’ They kept coming, always there when she thought she was alone. And the worst part? Sometimes, she could smell your cologne, Ashton. She told me it was like you were still there, haunting her.” Her voice cracked. “Every shadow she saw, every whisper of you, it just… it destroyed her.”
I clenched my fists, the icy resolve cracking. My own cologne? Lilith had access to everything in my life, knew how to twist the knife in my absence. The realization twisted mygut. Letting Dove go had only made her a new kind of prey for Lilith.
“So, where is she now?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper, though the fury inside me was barely contained.
Christina’s eyes blazed with anger again. “Where you left her, Ashton. She’s barely left the house since she got back. I can barely convince her to get out of bed for some days. She’s broken, you understand? Shattered. And every time she catches her reflection, she doesn’t see herself. She sees what you made her into—a shadow, a shell of who she was.”
The words tore through me, but I didn’t let myself flinch. I held her gaze, letting every word sink in, letting me absorb the weight of my failure. I’d been so sure I was protecting her by staying away, yet here was the truth. I hadn’t saved her; I’d led her into a darker place.
“I didn’t know…” my voice cracked, raw with regret. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to control the tremble in my fingers. “I thought letting her go was the right thing. I thought it would keep her safe.”
Christina scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “You thought wrong, Ashton. You let her go, and she’s still haunted by you—by whatever nightmare this is. So if you didn’t do this, if you didn’t send those things, then you need to find out who did. Because she can’t live like this.”
The weight of it all crashed over me, the guilt, the fury, the helplessness. I’d tried to keep her safe, tried to sever the ties that bound us, and now I knew it had been for nothing. If Lilith was still haunting her, still finding ways to break Dove in my absence, then I hadn’t done enough. I’d have to go deeper, face Lilith myself, even if it meant risking everything.
Christina’s gaze softened slightly as she watched me, as if some small part of her could see the turmoil raging inside me. “Just… do something. Make this right. She deserves peace, Ashton. She deserves to finally be free.”
Without another word, she turned and left me standing alone, her words echoing in the stillness of my empty mansion. The reality was sharp, like cold steel twisting in my chest. I’d failed Dove in every possible way. And now, whatever it took, whatever demons I’d have to face—I’d make it right.
30
ASHTON
Isat alone in the study, the quiet of the mansion pressing in on me, filling every empty space.
The room was dim, the only light coming from the low flames crackling in the fireplace, casting long shadows across the walls. My hands gripped the armrests of the chair, knuckles white with tension. Christina’s words played on a loop in my mind, each one striking deeper than the last. Dove was broken, haunted, living in fear—and it was my fault. I’d thought that letting her go would keep her safe, but instead, I’d left her defenseless in a world that seemed determined to tear her apart.
I couldn’t shake the image of Dove alone, curled up in the dark, afraid of shadows that felt too close, too familiar. It was as if I were back in my childhood home, feeling the same crushing isolation, the sense that no one would come to save me. I’d promised myself I would be her shield, her sanctuary. And I’d failed.
Regret seeped into every corner of my mind, dark and heavy. I remembered the moments I had with her: the way hereyes softened when she looked at me, the way her voice sounded in the quiet of the night, the feel of her hand in mine, trusting, warm. She’d fallen in love with me, given me her heart, and I’d shattered it, left her with nothing but shadows and whispers of a love that could never last.
But with each passing second, regret began to morph into something hotter, something darker. My jaw clenched, and a low growl escaped my throat. I’d been wrong to think I could protect her from a distance. I’d been wrong to think that leaving her would shield her from Lilith’s twisted games. If anything, it had only made Dove more vulnerable. And now Lilith was taunting her, sending balloons and shadows, turning every corner of Dove’s world into a nightmare. Lilith had pushed too far this time, and I could feel the fury rising within me, filling every inch of my body, searing away the last remnants of doubt.
My gaze dropped to my hands, fingers twitching, the urge to act clawing at me. I couldn’t sit here any longer, couldn’t let another day pass while Dove was haunted by a fear I’d left behind. With a sudden snap, something shifted inside of me, a resolve hardening like steel. I would find Lilith. I would end this.
I pushed myself up, moving with a newfound purpose, every step echoing in the quiet mansion. I grabbed my leather jacket, threw it on, and strode out to the garage. My motorcycle sat there, gleaming under the dim overhead light. The sleek black metal shone like a weapon, ready to cut through the night. I swung a leg over it, the familiar weight grounding me, reminding me of the purpose that drove me forward now.
The engine roared to life; the sound tearing through the silence, a declaration of the fury I could no longer contain. I sped down the winding path that led from the mansion to the outskirts of Hollow Hills, the cool night air biting against myface as I picked up speed. The towering trees of the woods rose up around me, their branches clawing at the sky, casting long shadows across the road.
I could see the familiar landmarks, the twisted oak trees, the moss-covered rocks, each one a ghostly reminder of the town’s dark history. The forest was alive with sounds, the rustling of leaves, the distant hoot of an owl, but all of it faded into the background as I pushed the throttle harder, letting the bike surge forward. I could smell the damp earth, the scent of pine mingling with the faint whiff of smoke in the air. The cold bit at my skin, but I welcomed it, letting it sharpen my senses, fueling the fire that burned inside of me.
Ahead, the road narrowed as it wound deeper into the woods, and I knew I was getting closer. The old circus grounds lay hidden beyond the trees, a twisted remnant of my past, and a place I’d never thought I would return to. But tonight, I felt drawn to it, as if the ghosts of my past were calling me, pulling me back to where it all began. The darkness thickened around me; the trees pressing in, their branches stretching overhead like skeletal fingers, blotting out the stars.
I slowed as I approached the clearing, the familiar sight of the circus tents rising up like shadows against the night sky. The air here was different, thick and heavy, carrying with it a sense of foreboding, a reminder of the twisted memories buried here. I cut the engine, the sudden silence pressing in around me as I dismounted, my boots crunching against the gravel.
As I stoodin the shadows cast by the towering, decrepit tents, rage twisted through me, barely kept in check by the biting wind. The air was thick, stagnant, heavy with the scent of old straw, smoke, and something faintly metallic that clung to every surface in this godforsaken circus. It had been weeks since I’d last seen Dove, weeks of forcing myself to stay away, hoping the separation would keep her safe. And yet, the balloons had kept appearing. Red. Bright. Mocking.
I clenched my fists, my eyes dark as he scanned the eerie surroundings. The eerie, twisted remnants of my past looked back at me through the eyes of Lilith’s troupe. Strange figures, half in shadow, lingered near the tattered tents. Their bodies were tense, still like statues, but their eyes flicked to me, watching, waiting. I could see their taunting smiles, the unhinged glints in their eyes.
Lilith’s loyal followers. They were as twisted as she was—a living nightmare I’d tried so hard to escape.
The air was charged, every inch of me coiled and ready to strike. I took a step forward; the dirt crunching under my boots, and let my voice tear through the silence.
“Lilith!” I shouted, my voice echoing into the night. “Come out. I know you’re watching.”
