Chapter 88
Elizabeth
The lights came back seconds later.
Just seconds.
But it felt much longer.
The hallway was empty.
The figure was gone.
No copy of me.
No smiling monster.
Nothing.
The corridor stretched before us, silent and dark.
For a moment nobody moved.
Then everyone moved at once.
Damon disappeared first.
One second beside me.
The next gone.
A black blur racing through the mansion.
Lucien and Tristan followed.
Adam cursed and grabbed a weapon from one of the display cabinets.
Vanessa’s hands glowed blue.
The entire mansion erupted into controlled chaos.
For the next two hours every room was searched.
Every hallway.
Every hidden passage.
Every entrance.
Nothing.
No creature.
No intruder.
No evidence.
Nothing.
Which somehow felt worse.
Because at least evidence could be explained.
This couldn’t.
By the time everyone gathered back in the library again, exhaustion hung over the room.
The map had returned to normal.
The silver flames were gone.
The mansion stood intact.
And nobody had answers.
I was beginning to hate that trend.
“We’re getting nowhere tonight,” Adam finally said.
Nobody argued.
Even Vanessa looked drained.
Dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes.
Her magic had been unpredictable all evening.
Every few minutes sparks jumped from her fingertips without warning.
Vanessa’s grandmother looked equally exhausted.
“The prison will still be there tomorrow.”
“Hopefully,” Lucien muttered.
“You’re not helping.”
“I rarely do.”
Chloe yawned loudly.
Very loudly.
“So we’re all agreeing that creepy hallway Elizabeth can wait until tomorrow?”
“That’s not what we’re calling it,” Adam said.
“Fine.”
She pointed at me.
“Evil hallway twin.”
Lucien nodded.
“Much better.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
A small laugh.
But a real one.
The tension eased slightly.
Just enough.
One by one everyone began leaving.
Adam promised to return first thing in the morning.
Vanessa and her grandmother planned to continue researching Arian’s writings.
Chloe hugged me before leaving.
“Try not to get possessed tonight.”
“That’s your advice?”
“It’s good advice.”
Then she skipped away.
Actually skipped.
New vampire or not, Chloe remained Chloe.
Soon the mansion became quiet.
Too quiet.
The enormous halls felt different when everyone was gone.
Empty.
Still.
The grandfather clock echoed somewhere in the distance.
A reminder that it was very late.
I should have been asleep.
Instead I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Wide awake.
Every time I closed my eyes I saw the red door.
The hallway.
The thing wearing my face.
The voice.
You remember.
I groaned and threw a pillow over my head.
It did absolutely nothing.
Eventually I gave up.
Maybe water would help.
Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to stop thinking.
I slipped out of bed and headed downstairs.
The mansion was dark except for a few lamps glowing softly along the walls.
Moonlight streamed through the tall windows.
Everything felt calm.
Almost peaceful.
The kitchen sat empty.
I grabbed a glass and filled it with water.
Then—
“Can’t sleep?”
I nearly threw the glass across the room.
Damon leaned against the doorway.
Completely relaxed.
Like he hadn’t just scared ten years off my life.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
One eyebrow lifted.
“You seem alive.”
I glared at him.
He looked annoyingly amused.
Typical.
“Normal people announce their presence.”
“Good thing I’m not normal.”
Fair.
Unfortunately.
I took another sip of water.
Damon entered the kitchen.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Not physically.
Just…
Different.
The way it always seemed to whenever he was around.
The silence stretched.
Not uncomfortable.
Just strange.
I looked at him.
He looked back.
Neither of us said anything.
Then I sighed.
“Tonight was a disaster.”
“Most of our nights are disasters.”
I hated that he had a point.
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
His eyes immediately noticed.
Of course they did.
Nothing escaped Damon Elvadores.
The realization made me look away.
Unfortunately, that only made me aware of how close he was standing.
Not touching.
Just close enough.
Which somehow felt worse.
My heart decided to become incredibly annoying.
Damon crossed his arms.
“You should be sleeping.”
“You should be sleeping.”
“I’m a vampire.”
Right.
Good point.
“Then you should be doing vampire things.”
His expression remained perfectly serious.
“What exactly are vampire things?”
I opened my mouth.
Paused.
Then laughed.
“Honestly, I have no idea.”
A rare smile appeared.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
For some reason that smile affected me more than the sarcastic ones.
The kitchen suddenly felt very warm.
Which was ridiculous.
Because vampires were practically human refrigerators.
I looked down at my glass.
Anywhere except at him.
“You’re staring at your water.”
My head snapped up.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I was thinking.”
“Terrifying.”
I rolled my eyes.
He looked pleased with himself.
Which was infuriating.
A comfortable silence settled between us.
Outside, rain began falling again.
Softly against the windows.
For a moment there were no monsters.
No prison.
No ancient prophecies.
Just the sound of rain.
And Damon standing a little too close.
His gaze softened slightly.
Not mushy.
Not vulnerable.
Just less guarded.
Enough to catch me off guard.
“You were frightened tonight.”
The statement surprised me.
Because it wasn’t teasing.
It wasn’t sarcasm.
It was observation.
I swallowed.
“A little.”
“A little?”
I smiled despite myself.
“Fine. A lot.”
Something unreadable crossed his face.
Then he nodded once.
As if confirming something to himself.
The intensity of his gaze became entirely too much.
I suddenly remembered how to panic.
Wonderful.
“Well.”
I took a step backward.
Then another.
“I should probably go.”
One dark eyebrow lifted.
“Probably.”
“Definitely.”
Another step.
My dignity was rapidly abandoning me.
Damon looked far too entertained by this.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Elizabeth.”
The way he said my name should honestly be illegal.
I pointed a warning finger at him.
“Don’t.”
His expression remained innocent.
Which was suspicious.
“Don’t what?”
“You know what.”
A smirk appeared.
There he was.
The Damon I knew.
Dangerous.
Arrogant.
Annoying.
And somehow that made everything worse.
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
Retreat.
Immediate retreat.
I turned and practically fled toward the stairs.
Behind me I heard a low chuckle.
The sound followed me all the way to my room.
And annoyingly—
I fell asleep smiling.