Page 101 of His Eternal Claim

The door groans as I push it open. The space is massive, dark, and steeped in him. The rich, intoxicating aroma of cedarwood, expensive tobacco, and his raw, masculine scent hangs thick in the air. I slide onto the couch and pull the heavy duvet, curling into a ball, pressing my face into the cushion.

I miss him.

I hate myself for it. I hate that my survival has become so intertwined with his presence. I am supposed to want his demise, yet here I am, sniffing his scent like a starving animal just to keep the nightmares at bay.

But even his scent isn’t enough tonight. The headache behind my eyes sharpens, and the darkness outside the window seems to press against the glass.

I stare at the shadows for a long time and realize they are moving.

I know they aren’t real, but my eyes refuse to believe it. I’ve been tossing on this couch for hours; my skin is prickling with a sudden fever.

Needing an escape from my own skull, I turn to the window.

The sheer white curtains sway lazily, though the windows are tightly shut.

My breath hitches. There. Right behind the heavy velvet drape, a silhouette.

My heart hammers against my ribs like a trapped bird as I sit up, pushing the heavy duvet off my shivering legs.

“Who’s there?” I choke out.

“Selene…” A shifting, distorted sound repeats my name over and over in a voice I don’t recognize. The silhouette moves, stepping out from behind the curtain. It is a woman. Her face is a blurred, shifting mass of grey shadow, but her eyes… her eyes are wide and hollow, and dripping with a dark, viscous liquid that looks like blood.

“You betrayed us,” the whisper hisses through the air, vibrating directly behind my ears. “You loved the monster.”

Panic spikes through my veins. I throw myself out of the couch, scrambling blindly toward the door. I grab the brass handle and yank with all my strength.

It doesn’t budge. The lock is turned.

Someone has locked it from the outside.

“Let me out!” I shriek as I pound my bleeding knuckles against the thick wood. “Zagreus! Mama! Please, someone let me out!”

Behind me, the whispering grows louder, voices that fill every square inch of the room. The shadowy woman is closer now, her hollow eyes staring directly into my soul, her elongated fingers reaching for my throat.

The room spins violently and the floor tilts beneath my feet as a blinding panic attack seizes my chest. I can’t breathe as I sink to my knees against the locked door, burying my face in my hands, weeping frantically as the terrors close in.

I cry until my lungs refuse to expand. “No, please!” I whimper, shaking my head.

Make her go away. Please make it stop.

I try to crawl back as her hand reaches out and crawls up my ankle and yanks me forward. I scream. “Let me go!”

“Shh… come with me, Stina…”

“Mama!” I shriek, trying to claw at the floor, but all my nails find is the rug that is pulled with my sliding body. “Someone save me!”

I hear the window open, and the curtains just sway with the wind as I realize this woman is going to throw me out the window.

“Kill yourself, and end this, Stina… it is painless.”

“No.” My voice breaks into a sob. “No, no, no…”

When I open my eyes again, I am no longer alone. There are people standing all around the room. Dozens of them.

Their necks bend at unnatural angles, and they’re burned. Their eyes are empty black sockets leaking shadows instead of tears. All of them are staring at me.

“Please…” I whisper.